nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Trading 9.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) was up 9.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $11.36 and last traded at $11.33. Approximately 41,687 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 215,121 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of nLIGHT in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on nLIGHT in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $15.50 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark restated a “speculative buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of nLIGHT in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

nLIGHT Trading Up 27.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $631.95 million, a P/E ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 2.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.59.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $50.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.23 million. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 25.62% and a negative return on equity of 19.58%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other nLIGHT news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 15,000 shares of nLIGHT stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total value of $166,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,347,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,973,846.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other nLIGHT news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.11, for a total value of $166,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,347,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,973,846.91. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 4,461 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total transaction of $51,033.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,961,204.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,461 shares of company stock worth $385,684 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,065,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,855,000 after acquiring an additional 23,697 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in nLIGHT by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,020,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,087,000 after purchasing an additional 309,634 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,656,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,538,000 after purchasing an additional 12,014 shares during the last quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of nLIGHT by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Divisar Capital Management LLC now owns 1,545,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,897,000 after buying an additional 133,023 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 4.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,147,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,547,000 after buying an additional 47,267 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.