Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Decreases Holdings in nLight (NASDAQ:LASR)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,798 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned 0.53% of nLight worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of nLight by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 159,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after buying an additional 15,904 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in nLight by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 209,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 87,788 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in nLight during the fourth quarter valued at $1,976,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in nLight by 345.1% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 48,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 37,803 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in nLight by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 123,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 35,260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLight Stock Up 0.8%

LASR opened at $18.43 on Tuesday. nLight has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $20.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.63 and a current ratio of 5.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $911.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.31 and a beta of 2.33.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.13. The business had revenue of $51.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.77 million. nLight had a negative net margin of 26.80% and a negative return on equity of 22.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that nLight will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of nLight in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of nLight from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $17.70.

Insider Transactions at nLight

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 10,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.62, for a total transaction of $177,292.44. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,931,298.44. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 33,682 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.53, for a total transaction of $657,809.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,206,540 shares in the company, valued at $23,563,726.20. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,915 shares of company stock valued at $3,445,301 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.10% 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.