nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $20.01 and last traded at $19.14, with a volume of 783746 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LASR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $17.70.

nLight Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a current ratio of 5.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $973.97 million, a P/E ratio of -17.43 and a beta of 2.33.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.77 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 22.23% and a negative net margin of 26.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.17) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 33,682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $657,809.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,206,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,563,726.20. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total value of $177,292.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 166,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 201,915 shares of company stock worth $3,445,301 over the last three months. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Senvest Management LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 2,481,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,033,000 after buying an additional 1,322,637 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new stake in nLight during the 1st quarter valued at $6,763,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of nLight by 140.4% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,207,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,383,000 after buying an additional 705,215 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 2,652,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,821,000 after buying an additional 314,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of nLight by 29.5% during the first quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,319,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after buying an additional 300,924 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.