nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $694,188.99 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 8,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $694,188.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,201,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,665,972.72. The trade was a 0.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of nLight stock opened at $65.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $70.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.28. nLight has a 12-month low of $16.87 and a 12-month high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The company’s revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LASR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in nLight by 155.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in nLight in the third quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Key nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view nLight favorably, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, which may help support longer-term confidence in the company. nLight Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares on June 4 and 3,840 shares on June 3 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which suggests routine selling rather than a change in outlook. SEC filing for CFO Joseph John Corso sale
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 8,901 shares on June 3 and 16,089 shares on June 4, also through a 10b5-1 plan for tax withholding on vested awards; the company says the trades were planned and do not necessarily signal fundamental weakness. SEC filing for CEO Scott H. Keeney sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias also sold 940 shares on June 3 under the same type of pre-arranged plan, adding to the near-term insider selling activity. SEC filing for CAO James Nias sale

nLight Company 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.