Key Points
- CAO sale: nLight Chief Accounting Officer James Nias sold 3,249 shares on March 5 at an average price of $61.96 for total proceeds of $201,308, trimming his stake by about 3.28% to 95,707 shares (SEC Form 4 filed).
- Broader insider and institutional selling: The CAO's sale is part of larger insider exits — CEO Scott Keeney and CFO Joseph Corso sold sizable blocks on March 5–6 and hedge fund Divisar sold ~287,005 shares — suggesting profit-taking amid the rally.
- Company performance: nLight reported a strong quarter (revenue $81.19M, +71.3% y/y; EPS $0.14 vs $0.11 est.), its stock is trading near 52-week highs, but the company still shows negative net margins and an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $58.31 target.
nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CAO James Nias sold 3,249 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $201,308.04. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 95,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,930,005.72. This represents a 3.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
nLight Stock Up 4.0%
Shares of nLight stock opened at $61.00 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -129.79 and a beta of 2.27. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.16. nLight has a 52 week low of $6.20 and a 52 week high of $69.52.
nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $81.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.71 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 9.28% and a negative net margin of 8.98%.The firm's revenue was up 71.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Trading of nLight
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in nLight by 7,142.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in nLight by 155.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in nLight during the third quarter valued at $41,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Key Stories Impacting nLight
Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:
- Positive Sentiment: nLight reported a quarterly earnings beat with revenue up ~71% year-over-year and an EPS beat in late February; strong top-line growth and improving margins underpin investor confidence and help justify the recent rally.
- Positive Sentiment: The stock is trading well above its 50- and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high, which can attract momentum and technical buyers.
- Neutral Sentiment: Despite these sales, insiders remain large holders — CEO Scott Keeney still owns over 2.2M shares (a substantial stake), which tempers concerns that the sales reflect loss of conviction. SEC Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 32,239 shares on March 5 (avg $61.96) and 23,656 shares on March 6 (avg $60.53), reducing his stake by ~1–1.4% in those transactions — insider sales at current highs can be viewed negatively by the market. SEC Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corso sold a total of 25,328 shares across March 5–6 (avg ~$61–$61.96), reducing his holding by ~6.7% — additional insider selling from senior finance leadership increases scrutiny. SEC Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer James Nias sold 3,249 shares on March 5, trimming his stake — smaller in size but consistent with the broader pattern of insider sales. SEC Form 4
- Negative Sentiment: Hedge fund Divisar materially reduced its position, selling ~287,005 shares (estimated ~$9.6M), signaling institutional profit-taking or reallocation that could pressure the stock if other funds follow. Hedge Fund Divisar Dumped nLIGHT Shares
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently issued reports on LASR. Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of nLight in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $40.00 to $62.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.31.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LASR
About nLight
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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