Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Lowers Stake in nLight $LASR

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 32.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 47,651 shares during the quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.20% of nLight worth $2,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Harvey Partners LLC increased its position in shares of nLight by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,473,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares during the last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its position in nLight by 1.9% during the second quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,344,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,468,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 6.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,215,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,925,000 after acquiring an additional 68,436 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 13.7% during the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,034,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,357,000 after acquiring an additional 124,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,763,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 15,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.66, for a total value of $548,129.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,483,813.20. This represents a 0.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,514 shares of company stock worth $3,911,043. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

nLight Stock Performance

nLight stock opened at $39.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.55 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a 1-year low of $6.20 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.99 and a 200-day moving average of $27.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on nLight from $26.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, nLight currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.29.

nLight Profile

nLIGHT, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor and fiber lasers for industrial, microfabrication, and aerospace and defense applications. The company operates in two segments, Laser Products and Advanced Development. It offers semiconductor lasers with various ranges of power levels, wavelengths, and output fiber sizes; and programmable and serviceable fiber lasers for use in industrial and aerospace and defense applications. The company also provides laser sensors, including light detection and ranging technologies for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications; and fiber amplifiers, beam combination, and control systems for use in high-energy laser systems in directed energy applications.