nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.43.

nLight Trading Down 8.5%

Shares of nLight stock traded down $4.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $43.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,264,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,010. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.92 and a beta of 2.33. nLight has a 1 year low of $6.20 and a 1 year high of $48.31. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In related news, CAO James Nias sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $36,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 99,512 shares in the company, valued at $2,985,360. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Raymond A. Link sold 12,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.33, for a total transaction of $443,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 102,576 shares in the company, valued at $3,624,010.08. This represents a 10.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 141,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,910. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. AIGH Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,810,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the third quarter valued at $8,626,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of nLight by 48,328.6% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 13,532 shares during the period. Harvey Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of nLight by 1.7% during the second quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,473,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bosun Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in nLight in the second quarter worth about $599,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by 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. 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.