nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm started coverage on nLight in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.43.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $48.00 on Tuesday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $48.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of -54.55 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a current ratio of 5.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Raymond A. Link sold 12,560 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.33, for a total value of $443,744.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 102,576 shares in the company, valued at $3,624,010.08. The trade was a 10.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,126,855.68. The trade was a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,810,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of nLight by 48,328.6% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 13,532 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of nLight by 1.7% in the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,473,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at $599,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,215,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,925,000 after purchasing an additional 68,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.