James Nias Sells 3,249 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 95,707 shares in the company, valued at $5,930,005.72. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

nLight Price Performance

nLight stock opened at $63.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of -135.72 and a beta of 2.27. nLight has a 12 month low of $6.20 and a 12 month high of $69.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.41.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of nLight by 622.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the second quarter worth about $731,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in nLight by 100.6% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 140,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 70,236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in nLight by 50.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 468,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,223,000 after acquiring an additional 157,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LASR. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

nLight News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLIGHT showcased its laser weapon systems to military buyers in Hawaii, fueling defense-demand hopes and fresh retail/tech-momentum buying interest that helped lift the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are still reacting to the Feb. 26 quarter: revenue jumped ~71% YoY and EPS beat consensus, supporting a re-rating of the company’s growth outlook and providing fundamental backing for the rally. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed: several firms have raised targets and issued Buy/Outperform ratings, but the consensus price target (~$58) sits below the current trading level, leaving room for debate on valuation and near-term upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Scott Keeney sold large blocks of stock on March 5–6 (totaling tens of thousands of shares), which the market can interpret as profit-taking at current highs and may keep pressure on the share price if other insiders follow. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold over 25,000 shares across March 5–6, trimming a meaningful portion of his stake and increasing scrutiny on insider selling patterns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CAO James Nias also sold shares (3,249), consistent with the broader cluster of insider sales reported the same week. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge fund Divisar materially reduced its position (~287k shares, estimated ~$9.6M), signaling institutional profit-taking or reallocation that could weigh on the stock if others follow suit. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha piece cautions that nLIGHT may be trading at a high valuation relative to fundamentals, warning investors that the stock could be a “dangerous premium” trade despite the growth story. Read More.

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.