nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Stock Price Down 9.1% – Here’s What Happened

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) traded down 9.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $65.01 and last traded at $64.9550. Approximately 398,882 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,474,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.94.

nLight Stock Down 6.9%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.47 and its 200 day moving average is $61.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of -221.91 and a beta of 2.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at nLight

In other nLight news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,497,510.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. This represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 391,038 shares of company stock valued at $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in nLight during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in nLight during the third quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.