nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on LASR. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, February 27th. Zacks Research downgraded nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

nLight Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $62.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.19 and a beta of 2.27. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $69.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.32 and a 200 day moving average of $39.08.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The company’s revenue was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other nLight news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total transaction of $627,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 92,576 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,847.04. The trade was a 9.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,126,855.68. The trade was a 25.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,603 shares of company stock valued at $11,623,441. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in nLight by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in nLight by 1.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in nLight by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst coverage is bullish — Robert W. Baird started coverage with an Outperform and $95 price target, Raymond James reiterated a strong‑buy with a $75 target, and Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $62.50. These upgrades support upside expectations from research desks. nLIGHT, Inc. (LASR)’s Strong Tech Stack Catches Analyst Attention
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed an EPS beat and strong revenue growth (revenue up ~71% Y/Y, EPS above estimates), which underpins the company’s operational momentum and supports the bullish analyst outlook. MarketBeat LASR coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Media attention and inclusion on ‘best day trading’ lists can increase short‑term volume and volatility but are not fundamental drivers of long‑term value. 11 best day trading stocks to buy now
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high (~84%), which can dampen share supply but also concentrate price moves when institutions rebalance. MarketBeat institutional holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling this week: CEO Scott Keeney sold 19,096 shares (~$1.12M), Director Raymond Link sold multiple blocks (10,000; 8,760; 6,644 shares) and CAO James Nias sold 1,808 shares — these disclosed Form 4s likely pressured the stock by prompting profit‑taking or investor concern about insider timing. CEO Form 4 (SEC)
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary specifically points to insider sales as a reason for the intraday weakness in LASR, reinforcing the negative impact of those transactions on sentiment. Why nLIGHT (LASR) Stock Is Down Today

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.