nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Raised to Buy at Northcoast Research

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) was upgraded by Northcoast Research from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 95.77% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered nLight from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of nLight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of nLight from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.50.

nLight Stock Performance

Shares of LASR opened at $38.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $46.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.74. nLight has a one year low of $28.05 and a one year high of $86.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -153.24 and a beta of 2.37.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.01. nLight had a negative return on equity of 2.83% and a negative net margin of 4.02%.The business had revenue of $82.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that nLight will post -0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO James Nias sold 1,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.69, for a total transaction of $41,707.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 96,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,930,491.24. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director William Gossman sold 15,000 shares of nLight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $665,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 100,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,447,134.36. This represents a 13.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 616,697 shares of company stock valued at $26,999,794 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LASR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in nLight in the second quarter valued at $339,687,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,374,000. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 84,128.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 394,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,444,000 after acquiring an additional 393,723 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of nLight by 2,995.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 406,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,309,000 after acquiring an additional 393,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of nLight during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,061,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

About nLight

nLight, Inc is a photonics company that develops and manufactures semiconductor and fiber lasers, optical amplifiers, and related laser components and systems. Its products are designed for applications requiring high power, precision, reliability, and advanced beam control.

The company serves customers in industrial, microfabrication, aerospace and defense, and other specialized markets. Its technologies are used in areas such as materials processing, manufacturing, directed-energy systems, and other applications that rely on high-performance laser sources.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, nLight operates internationally, with research, development, manufacturing, and sales activities serving customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.