Insider Selling: nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Sells $299,481.60 in Stock

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,840 shares of nLight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $299,481.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,732 shares in the company, valued at $13,549,358.68. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

Joseph John Corso also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 4th, Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.90, for a total transaction of $278,259.30.
• On Wednesday, May 20th, Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40.
• On Tuesday, May 19th, Joseph John Corso sold 20,243 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $1,386,240.64.
• On Monday, May 18th, Joseph John Corso sold 19,575 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total transaction of $1,386,301.50.
• On Friday, May 15th, Joseph John Corso sold 18,445 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $1,386,326.20.

nLight Price Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $65.85 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a one year low of $16.87 and a one year high of $86.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.28.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $80.18 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on LASR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research 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 research report on Thursday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. 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 research report on Friday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, nLight currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.06.

Institutional Trading of nLight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in nLight by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in nLight by 32.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 235,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,422,000 after acquiring an additional 58,272 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in nLight by 12.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 21,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares during the period. Amundi bought a new stake in nLight in the first quarter valued at about $1,023,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in nLight by 67.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view nLight favorably, with the stock carrying an average rating of “Moderate Buy”, which may help support longer-term confidence in the company. nLight Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Joseph John Corso sold 3,817 shares on June 4 and 3,840 shares on June 3 under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting, which suggests routine selling rather than a change in outlook. SEC filing for CFO Joseph John Corso sale
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 8,901 shares on June 3 and 16,089 shares on June 4, also through a 10b5-1 plan for tax withholding on vested awards; the company says the trades were planned and do not necessarily signal fundamental weakness. SEC filing for CEO Scott H. Keeney sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias also sold 940 shares on June 3 under the same type of pre-arranged plan, adding to the near-term insider selling activity. SEC filing for CAO James Nias sale

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.