nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $3,200,426.62 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 45,191 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $3,200,426.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,422,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,544,028.28. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Stock Up 7.2%

LASR stock opened at $76.43 on Friday. nLight has a twelve month low of $13.38 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.88.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in nLight by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,166,000 after acquiring an additional 125,446 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in nLight by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,684,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in nLight by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,485,000 after buying an additional 341,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in nLight by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,320,000 after buying an additional 20,043 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter valued at $41,315,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LASR shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported strong quarterly results earlier this month, with EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus expectations of $72.14 million. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth story and helping support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating or raising buy ratings and price targets, including targets as high as $100. That suggests the market still sees room for more upside in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed by CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias. The company said the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Neutral Sentiment: The selling was sizable in dollar terms, especially from the CEO and CFO, so investors may still view it as a sentiment headwind even though the transactions appear routine.

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.