nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailynLight (NASDAQ:LASR – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.
Several other brokerages have also issued reports on LASR. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on nLight in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.31.
Get Our Latest Research Report on LASR
nLight Stock Performance
nLight stock opened at $58.30 on Tuesday. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $74.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -124.04 and a beta of 2.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.43.
nLight (NASDAQ:LASR – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. nLight had a negative net margin of 8.98% and a negative return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.71 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.30) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that nLight will post -1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Buying and Selling at nLight
In related news, CAO James Nias sold 1,808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total value of $116,471.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 93,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,048,973.58. This represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Raymond A. Link sold 6,644 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.28, for a total transaction of $420,432.32. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,172 shares in the company, valued at $4,883,444.16. The trade was a 7.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 162,528 shares of company stock worth $9,223,597 in the last 90 days. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Trading of nLight
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in nLight by 7,142.9% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in nLight by 155.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in nLight during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.
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.