nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias Sells 415 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CAO James Nias sold 415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total value of $29,502.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 98,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,006,701.49. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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.

James Nias also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 19th, James Nias sold 1,618 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $110,800.64.
• On Monday, May 18th, James Nias sold 1,565 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total value of $110,833.30.
• On Friday, May 15th, James Nias sold 1,487 shares of nLight stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total value of $111,762.92.
• On Thursday, March 12th, James Nias sold 1,808 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total transaction of $116,471.36.
• On Thursday, March 5th, James Nias sold 3,249 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $201,308.04.

nLight Trading Up 7.2%

LASR opened at $76.43 on Friday. nLight has a 1-year low of $13.38 and a 1-year high of $86.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $51.88.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The company had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. nLight’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains supported by nLight’s latest quarterly report, which showed EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum is improving. Q1 Earnings Highlights: Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) Vs The Rest Of The Electronic Components Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives sold shares, but the filings indicate the transactions were pre-arranged under Rule 10b5-1 plans and tied to tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes the selling less concerning than discretionary insider exits.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold shares in multiple transactions, and CFO Joseph John Corso and CAO James Nias also sold stock. While insider sales can weigh on sentiment, the disclosed rationale suggests routine portfolio/compensation-related activity rather than a change in business outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: The large amount of insider selling, especially from the CEO and CFO, may create some short-term pressure on LASR shares as traders weigh whether management is taking profits after the recent run-up.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LASR shares. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. William Blair started coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.06.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in nLight by 0.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in nLight by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of nLight by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by 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. 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.