nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Sells $742,193.10 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Joseph John Corso sold 12,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $742,193.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 170,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,409.44. This represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Joseph John Corso also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 5th, Joseph John Corso sold 13,038 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $807,834.48.
• On Monday, December 15th, Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00.

nLight Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of LASR opened at $66.49 on Thursday. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $69.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -141.47 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.33 and a 200-day moving average of $38.61.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. The business had revenue of $81.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.30) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in nLight by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,166,000 after buying an additional 125,446 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,473,000 after acquiring an additional 34,348 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,684,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,485,000 after acquiring an additional 341,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,344,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,468,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported a Q4 beat: revenue grew ~71% YoY and EPS topped estimates, which supports the rally and higher analyst targets.
• Positive Sentiment: The company showcased laser weapon systems to military buyers in Hawaii, drawing direct defense demand interest that can lift revenue visibility for aerospace & defense programs. Military demo article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed but generally bullish on growth — multiple firms raised targets after results (Needham, Cantor Fitzgerald, Baird), leaving consensus at a “Moderate Buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: Insiders remain large holders overall — CEO Scott Keeney still owns millions of shares, which tempers concerns that sales equal loss of conviction. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales by CEO Scott Keeney (several filings: 32,239; 23,656; 19,096 shares across early March) reduce insider ownership slightly and can be viewed negatively by momentum traders. CEO sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: CFO Joseph Corso sold ~25k shares across March 5–6 (reducing his holding by ~6.7%); CAO James Nias also sold — the cluster of senior‑management sales raises governance/near‑term sentiment risk. CFO sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Hedge fund Divisar reportedly sold ~287k shares (~$9.6M), an institutional profit‑taking move that could pressure the stock if others follow. Divisar sell article
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/valuation critique: a recent Seeking Alpha piece argues LASR is trading at a “dangerous premium,” which may encourage cautious investors to trim positions. Seeking Alpha valuation article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LASR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

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.