nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.76 and last traded at $57.64, with a volume of 2484663 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $54.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LASR shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised nLight to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on nLight from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

nLight Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.50 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total transaction of $2,399,844.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This represents a 25.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,285,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,711,100.20. This represents a 1.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 127,502 shares of company stock worth $4,622,166. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of nLight by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,166,000 after buying an additional 125,446 shares during the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC boosted its stake in nLight by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 2,107,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,473,000 after purchasing an additional 34,348 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of nLight by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,684,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of nLight by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,485,000 after acquiring an additional 341,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AWM Investment Company Inc. grew its position in shares of nLight by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,344,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,468,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.