nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $73.00 and last traded at $72.0490, with a volume of 87586 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $71.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.31.

nLight Trading Down 11.0%

The firm has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -135.87 and a beta of 2.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.52.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 business’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. Research analysts predict that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.79, for a total value of $627,900.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 92,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,847.04. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $201,308.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 162,528 shares of company stock worth $9,223,597 over the last ninety days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of nLight by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in nLight by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in nLight by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in nLight by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in nLight by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.