nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $3,034,976.56 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 41,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.36, for a total transaction of $3,034,976.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,210,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,127,727.44. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

nLight Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $76.39 on Thursday. nLight has a 12-month low of $16.25 and a 12-month high of $86.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -254.62 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.28 and a 200 day moving average of $54.72.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 155.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LASR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

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.