nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. nLight had a negative net margin of 19.13% and a negative return on equity of 17.11%. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.30) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from nLight’s conference call:

• nLIGHT reported strong 2025 results with full-year revenue of $261 million (up 32% YoY), record A&D revenue of $175 million (+60% YoY), gross margin expanding to ~30%, Adjusted EBITDA of $23.5 million, and positive operating cash flow—showing clear operating leverage.
• The company gave Q1 2026 guidance of $70M–$76M (midpoint $73M) with overall gross margin expected 27%–32% and Adjusted EBITDA of $5M–$10M, while noting development revenue should decline sequentially after the DE M-SHORAD delivery.
• nLIGHT completed a follow-on equity raise netting over $190 million, giving it more than a quarter-billion in cash to fund a new 50,000 sq ft Longmont manufacturing buildout, supply-chain investments, staffing, R&D, and opportunistic M&A.
• The company is exiting the cutting and welding markets, which it expects will create a ~$25 million–$30 million full-year revenue headwind (mostly gone by H2 2026) even as it transitions those resources to higher-priority A&D and advanced manufacturing areas.
• nLIGHT highlighted a robust A&D pipeline—including progress on HELSI-2 (a $171M 1 MW program), delivery of the 50 kW DE M-SHORAD laser weapon module, a $50M missile-sensing contract, new international customers, and expected further awards tied to the government’s Golden Dome priorities.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR traded down $6.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.19. 3,708,028 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,351,062. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.98 and a 200-day moving average of $36.27. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $62.98. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.85 and a beta of 2.33.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target from $48 to $70 and assigned a “buy” rating, signaling confidence in continued revenue growth and implying ~24.6% upside from the current price. Needham Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $62.50 and moved to “overweight,” providing additional analyst support for the stock after the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results topped expectations: EPS $0.14 vs. $0.11 consensus and revenue $81.2M vs. $76.7M; revenue rose ~71% year‑over‑year. Management also set Q1 revenue guidance ($70–$76M) above consensus, which supports near‑term growth expectations. Q4 Earnings & Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest: Bleakley Financial reported a new stake in nLight, indicating some institutional accumulation. Bleakley Stake
• Positive Sentiment: Management scheduled investor events and conferences in early March, increasing chances for deeper analyst/investor engagement and potentially clearer forward commentary. Investor Events
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume was reported, suggesting heightened speculative or hedging activity that can amplify intraday moves but is not itself a directional signal. Options Volume Note
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat and raised guidance, the stock dropped as investors appeared to take profits after recent gains and reacted to remaining profitability concerns (negative net margin and ROE noted in the report). Several outlets reported the stock “tumbled” after the release. Stock Reaction Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday volume and elevated volatility accompanied the move lower, which can exacerbate declines and indicates short‑term positioning changes rather than a change in underlying fundamentals. Market Reaction & Volume

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, 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 value of $2,399,844.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 127,502 shares of company stock worth $4,622,166 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in nLight by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 622.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after buying an additional 66,518 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in nLight by 8.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,487,000 after buying an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in nLight by 7.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 107,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in nLight in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LASR. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.07.

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.