Granite Investment Partners LLC Has $10.11 Million Holdings in nLight $LASR

Granite Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 177,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,456 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in nLight were worth $10,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of nLight in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LASR. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of nLight from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.50.

nLight Price Performance

NASDAQ LASR opened at $58.68 on Thursday. nLight has a one year low of $17.84 and a one year high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -195.59 and a beta of 2.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.07 and its 200-day moving average is $60.23.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative return on equity of 4.18% and a negative net margin of 5.08%.The business had revenue of $80.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. nLight’s quarterly revenue was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 46,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $3,200,412.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,497,510.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 177,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,501,068.80. The trade was a 16.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 391,038 shares of company stock worth $28,367,419. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.