nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney Sells 8,901 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 8,901 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $694,188.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,201,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,665,972.72. This trade represents a 0.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ LASR opened at $65.85 on Friday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $16.87 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.10. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in nLight during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in nLight during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.