nLight $LASR Shares Sold by AIGH Capital Management LLC

AIGH Capital Management LLC reduced its position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 43.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 340,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260,103 shares during the quarter. nLight makes up about 2.6% of AIGH Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. AIGH Capital Management LLC’s holdings in nLight were worth $19,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in nLight by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,166,000 after buying an additional 125,446 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,485,000 after acquiring an additional 341,948 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,320,000 after acquiring an additional 20,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,315,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

nLight Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $58.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -195.59 and a beta of 2.30. nLight has a 12-month low of $17.84 and a 12-month high of $86.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.23.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LASR shares. William Blair initiated coverage on nLight in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,386,803.50. The trade was a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $1,200,239.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,003,909.40. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

nLight 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.