King Luther Capital Management Corp Cuts Holdings in nLight $LASR

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its position in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,000 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.05% of nLight worth $770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of nLight by 1,599.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in nLight in the third quarter worth $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in nLight by 162.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Militia Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of nLight by 213.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 3,246 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other nLight news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,711,100.20. The trade was a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 127,502 shares of company stock worth $4,622,166 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on nLight from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, nLight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

nLight Price Performance

LASR opened at $56.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.34. nLight has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $59.00. The company has a quick ratio of 4.36, a current ratio of 5.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.65 and a beta of 2.33.

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.