nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) gapped up prior to trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock from $40.00 to $62.50. The stock had previously closed at $56.19, but opened at $67.51. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. nLight shares last traded at $63.8030, with a volume of 1,242,222 shares changing hands.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on nLight in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.07.

Insider Activity at nLight

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,194 shares of company stock valued at $4,138,841. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in nLight in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in nLight during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Trading Down 6.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -134.19 and a beta of 2.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.15. The company has a quick ratio of 4.36, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.