nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Trading Up 5.6% – What’s Next?

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)’s stock price was up 5.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.28 and last traded at $13.36. Approximately 170,521 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 343,537 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LASR. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Craig Hallum upgraded shares of nLIGHT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, nLIGHT currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.90.

nLIGHT Stock Up 10.4%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $690.22 million, a P/E ratio of -13.47 and a beta of 2.02.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $51.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $47.77 million. nLIGHT had a negative return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 24.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $437,184.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,963.59. This represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLIGHT

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in nLIGHT by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of nLIGHT during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of nLIGHT by 3,951.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,596 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of nLIGHT by 6,563.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 4,791 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of nLIGHT in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About nLIGHT

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.