Renaissance Technologies LLC Reduces Stock Position in nLight $LASR

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 38.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 65,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in nLight were worth $3,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in nLight by 1,599.1% during the second 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. raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 7,142.9% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 155.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.94.

Insider Activity at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 169,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,386,803.50. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 16,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $1,200,239.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,185,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $163,003,909.40. This trade represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

nLight Stock Performance

nLight stock opened at $56.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of -224.60 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $23.61 and a fifty-two week high of $86.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.67.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative return on equity of 3.19% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The company had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. nLIGHT reported adjusted earnings of $0.15 per share versus the $0.14 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 33.8% year over year to $82.59 million, above expectations of approximately $78.6 million. nLIGHT Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Defense and aerospace demand remained strong. Record aerospace and defense revenue, increasing demand for high-power lasers, and gross-margin and adjusted-EBITDA performance at or above company expectations supported the quarter’s results. LASR Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates on Strong A&D Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will participate in upcoming Needham and Jefferies investor conferences, potentially providing additional updates on defense demand, supply-chain conditions and growth plans. nLIGHT Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor Events
• Negative Sentiment: Supply issues cloud the near-term outlook. China-linked supply delays are expected to affect third-quarter shipments. nLIGHT guided for Q3 revenue of $63 million to $73 million, a range whose midpoint is below the roughly $69.1 million analyst consensus and signals a potential sequential decline despite robust underlying demand. nLIGHT Stock Falls as China-Linked Supply Issues Overshadow Quarterly Beat
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings outlook prompted caution among analysts, including a Zacks Research downgrade from “strong buy” to “hold,” adding pressure to the stock’s valuation and near-term sentiment. LASR Earnings Call Focuses on Defense and Supply Constraints

nLight 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.