Scott Keeney Sells 8,901 Shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 8,901 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total value of $694,188.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,201,128 shares in the company, valued at $171,665,972.72. This represents a 0.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of nLight stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. nLight has a 52-week low of $16.87 and a 52-week high of $86.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced 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. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in nLight by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 1,170 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 622.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 77,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 66,518 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 8.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 75,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,828 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 7.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 107,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,114,000 after purchasing an additional 7,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of nLight during the second quarter worth about $600,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Key nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view nLight favorably, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, which may help support longer-term confidence in the company. nLight Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares on June 4 and 3,840 shares on June 3 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which suggests routine selling rather than a change in outlook. SEC filing for CFO Joseph John Corso sale
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 8,901 shares on June 3 and 16,089 shares on June 4, also through a 10b5-1 plan for tax withholding on vested awards; the company says the trades were planned and do not necessarily signal fundamental weakness. SEC filing for CEO Scott H. Keeney sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias also sold 940 shares on June 3 under the same type of pre-arranged plan, adding to the near-term insider selling activity. SEC filing for CAO James Nias sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

LASR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.06.

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.