Investors Buy Large Volume of nLight Call Options (NASDAQ:LASR)

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 13,808 call options on the company. This is an increase of 2,142% compared to the average daily volume of 616 call options.

nLight Stock Up 8.7%

Shares of LASR traded up $4.77 on Tuesday, reaching $59.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,190,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,118. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of -67.62 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a current ratio of 5.63, a quick ratio of 4.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $60.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.48 and a 200-day moving average of $35.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded nLight to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.00.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at $85,711,100.20. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 127,502 shares of company stock valued at $4,622,166 in the last quarter. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in nLight by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 27,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in nLight by 622.7% in the 1st 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. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of nLight by 191.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in nLight by 162.4% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of nLight in the 2nd quarter worth $1,773,000. 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.