nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias Sells 940 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 97,621 shares in the company, valued at $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

James Nias also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 20th, James Nias sold 415 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total transaction of $29,502.35.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, James Nias sold 1,618 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $110,800.64.
• On Monday, May 18th, James Nias sold 1,565 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total transaction of $110,833.30.
• On Friday, May 15th, James Nias sold 1,487 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $111,762.92.
• On Thursday, March 12th, James Nias sold 1,808 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total transaction of $116,471.36.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LASR opened at $65.85 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.10. nLight has a 12 month low of $16.87 and a 12 month high of $86.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.04) EPS. nLight’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.06.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in nLight by 0.7% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in nLight by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in nLight by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in nLight by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view nLight favorably, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, which may help support longer-term confidence in the company. nLight Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares on June 4 and 3,840 shares on June 3 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which suggests routine selling rather than a change in outlook. SEC filing for CFO Joseph John Corso sale
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 8,901 shares on June 3 and 16,089 shares on June 4, also through a 10b5-1 plan for tax withholding on vested awards; the company says the trades were planned and do not necessarily signal fundamental weakness. SEC filing for CEO Scott H. Keeney sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias also sold 940 shares on June 3 under the same type of pre-arranged plan, adding to the near-term insider selling activity. SEC filing for CAO James Nias sale

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.