Key Points
- nLight CEO Scott Keeney sold 8,901 shares at an average price of $77.99, totaling about $694,189, in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan used to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.
- Several other executives also sold shares recently, including the CFO and Chief Accounting Officer, but the transactions were similarly disclosed as planned sales tied to equity vesting rather than a change in outlook.
- Despite the insider selling, nLight’s latest earnings beat expectations with $0.20 EPS and $80.18 million in revenue, and analysts still rate the stock “Moderate Buy” on average.
nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) CAO James Nias sold 940 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.99, for a total transaction of $73,310.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 97,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,613,461.79. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
James Nias also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Wednesday, May 20th, James Nias sold 415 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.09, for a total transaction of $29,502.35.
- On Tuesday, May 19th, James Nias sold 1,618 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $110,800.64.
- On Monday, May 18th, James Nias sold 1,565 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.82, for a total transaction of $110,833.30.
- On Friday, May 15th, James Nias sold 1,487 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.16, for a total transaction of $111,762.92.
- On Thursday, March 12th, James Nias sold 1,808 shares of nLight stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.42, for a total transaction of $116,471.36.
nLight Trading Down 12.1%
LASR stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.49 and a beta of 2.31. nLight has a 52 week low of $16.87 and a 52 week high of $86.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $70.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.10.
nLight (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's revenue was up 55.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that nLight will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of nLight by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,989,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,166,000 after purchasing an additional 125,446 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 1,857,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,684,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of nLight by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,399,229 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,485,000 after purchasing an additional 341,948 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of nLight by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,234,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,320,000 after purchasing an additional 20,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of nLight in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,315,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price 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. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price 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. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.06.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LASR
Key Stories Impacting nLight
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
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.
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