nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney Sells 41,373 Shares

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) CEO Scott Keeney sold 41,373 shares of nLight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.40, for a total transaction of $2,912,659.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,334,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,323,878.40. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.

nLight Stock Up 7.2%

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $76.43 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.88. nLight has a 52-week low of $13.38 and a 52-week high of $86.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -254.76 and a beta of 2.34.

nLight (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.12. nLight had a negative net margin of 5.08% and a negative return on equity of 4.18%. The business had revenue of $80.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.14 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that nLight will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting nLight

Here are the key news stories impacting nLight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains supported by nLight’s latest quarterly report, which showed EPS of $0.20 versus $0.08 expected and revenue of $80.18 million versus $72.14 million expected. Revenue also rose 55.2% year over year, reinforcing the view that business momentum is improving. Q1 Earnings Highlights: Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) Vs The Rest Of The Electronic Components Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives sold shares, but the filings indicate the transactions were pre-arranged under Rule 10b5-1 plans and tied to tax withholding on vested equity awards, which makes the selling less concerning than discretionary insider exits.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Scott H. Keeney sold shares in multiple transactions, and CFO Joseph John Corso and CAO James Nias also sold stock. While insider sales can weigh on sentiment, the disclosed rationale suggests routine portfolio/compensation-related activity rather than a change in business outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: The large amount of insider selling, especially from the CEO and CFO, may create some short-term pressure on LASR shares as traders weigh whether management is taking profits after the recent run-up.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of nLight in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of nLight from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of nLight in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLight

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in nLight in the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in nLight by 7,142.9% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in nLight by 155.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new position in nLight in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in nLight by 7,871.4% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.