nLight $LASR Shares Sold by UBS Group AG

UBS Group AG lessened its stake in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,515 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,091 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in nLight were worth $4,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of nLight during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of nLight by 120.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in nLight by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $78.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -261.79 and a beta of 2.34. nLight has a 1 year low of $13.45 and a 1 year high of $86.95.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business’s revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on LASR shares. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, April 24th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, nLight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.06.

More nLight News

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: nLight’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: Research coverage has stayed constructive, including reports highlighting nLight as a strong momentum stock and multiple bullish analyst ratings, which can help support investor confidence in LASR.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives, including CEO Scott H. Keeney, CFO Joseph John Corso, and CAO James Nias, sold shares recently. The filings say the trades were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes them less concerning than discretionary selling.
• Negative Sentiment: Even though the insider sales appear routine, the volume of selling from top executives may still weigh on sentiment in the short term as some investors interpret it as profit-taking after a sharp run-up in the share price.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 16.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 46,735 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,675,541.12. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 405,487 shares of company stock valued at $27,566,119 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.