nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) Trading Down 5.4% – What’s Next?

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) shares traded down 5.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $46.12 and last traded at $45.39. 180,339 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 788,609 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LASR. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of nLight to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on nLight in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded nLight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $33.50 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.43.

nLight Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.76 and a beta of 2.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.63 and a quick ratio of 4.36.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In other news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 66,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.32, for a total value of $2,399,844.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 196,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,126,855.68. This trade represents a 25.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 31,748 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $1,190,867.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,285,020 shares in the company, valued at $85,711,100.20. This trade represents a 1.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 141,262 shares of company stock worth $5,101,910. 4.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLight

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in nLight by 147.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of nLight during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in nLight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 83.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.