nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Sells $3,200,412.80 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 46,735 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total value of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

nLight Stock Up 7.2%

LASR traded up $5.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.43. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,495. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.88. nLight has a 1 year low of $13.38 and a 1 year high of $86.95. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.14 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight reported strong quarterly results earlier this month, with EPS of $0.20 versus estimates of $0.08 and revenue of $80.18 million versus expectations of $72.14 million. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the company’s growth story and helping support the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms reiterating or raising buy ratings and price targets, including targets as high as $100. That suggests the market still sees room for more upside in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed by CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias. The company said the trades were made under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding tied to vesting equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Neutral Sentiment: The selling was sizable in dollar terms, especially from the CEO and CFO, so investors may still view it as a sentiment headwind even though the transactions appear routine.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in nLight by 1,599.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in nLight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.06.

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.