Castleark Management LLC Invests $4.04 Million in nLight $LASR

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 58,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,045,000. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.10% of nLight at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 0.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in nLight by 2.7% in 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 8.0% during the fourth 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,840 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $299,481.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,549,358.68. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $73,310.60. Following the completion of 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 479,831 shares of company stock valued at $25,378,732. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

nLight Trading Down 1.8%

LASR stock opened at $43.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.08. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -173.20 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a 12 month low of $27.22 and a 12 month high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $82.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 2.83%. nLight’s quarterly revenue was up 33.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.94.

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.