nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney Sells 46,735 Shares of Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.

nLight Trading 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $68.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.88. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released 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. The company had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains supported by nLight’s latest quarterly report, which showed EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum is improving. Q1 Earnings Highlights: Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) Vs The Rest Of The Electronic Components Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives sold shares, but the filings indicate the transactions were pre-arranged under Rule 10b5-1 plans and tied to tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes the selling less concerning than discretionary insider exits.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold shares in multiple transactions, and CFO Joseph John Corso and CAO James Nias also sold stock. While insider sales can weigh on sentiment, the disclosed rationale suggests routine portfolio/compensation-related activity rather than a change in business outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: The large amount of insider selling, especially from the CEO and CFO, may create some short-term pressure on LASR shares as traders weigh whether management is taking profits after the recent run-up.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in nLight by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 235,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,422,000 after buying an additional 58,272 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in nLight by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 21,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new position in nLight in the 1st quarter valued at $1,023,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in nLight by 67.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 721 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in nLight by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,142,000 after buying an additional 11,012 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.