nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Shares Gap Up to $11.56

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.56, but opened at $12.33. nLIGHT shares last traded at $11.81, with a volume of 26,409 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Benchmark reiterated a “speculative buy” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of nLIGHT in a research note on Friday.

nLIGHT Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $577.38 million, a PE ratio of -13.61 and a beta of 2.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $12.24 and its 200 day moving average is $12.25.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.02. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 19.85% and a negative return on equity of 15.03%. The firm had revenue of $51.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.08 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -0.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLIGHT

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 14,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.26, for a total transaction of $172,927.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 146,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,797,328.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. Senvest Management LLC increased its position in shares of nLIGHT by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 1,156,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,616,000 after acquiring an additional 198,609 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in nLIGHT by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,357,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,513,000 after buying an additional 269,000 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of nLIGHT by 1,251.2% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 250,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after buying an additional 231,844 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,995,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,952,000 after buying an additional 58,689 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of nLIGHT during the third quarter valued at approximately $131,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

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.