GSA Capital Partners LLP Makes New $2.35 Million Investment in nLight $LASR

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 33,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,350,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in nLight by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of nLight by 0.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,384,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of nLight by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of nLight by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLight Stock Up 4.5%

LASR stock opened at $52.60 on Friday. nLight has a twelve month low of $24.87 and a twelve month high of $86.95. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -210.40 and a beta of 2.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.54 and a 200-day moving average of $64.87.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.58 million. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LASR has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.94.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 35,476 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total value of $2,497,510.40. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 nLight 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,375,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,675,541.12. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 328,522 shares of company stock worth $23,668,717. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

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.