nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on LASR. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on nLight from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on nLight in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on nLight from $26.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised nLight to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLight currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.29.

nLight Trading Down 0.0%

nLight stock opened at $40.02 on Friday. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $41.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.48 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 12,560 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.33, for a total value of $443,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 102,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,624,010.08. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO James Nias sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $36,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 99,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,985,360. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910. 4.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 377.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,057,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,327,000 after purchasing an additional 835,720 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at $22,809,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of nLight by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,864,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,130,000 after buying an additional 747,958 shares during the period. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of nLight in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,810,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of nLight by 537.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 631,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,711,000 after acquiring an additional 532,470 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About nLight

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.