nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) Now Covered by Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $15.50 target price on the stock.

LASR has been the topic of several other research reports. Benchmark restated a speculative buy rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of nLIGHT in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of nLIGHT in a report on Monday, August 5th.

nLIGHT Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of nLIGHT stock opened at $11.03 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.07 and a 200 day moving average of $11.76. nLIGHT has a 12 month low of $8.13 and a 12 month high of $15.00. The firm has a market cap of $524.64 million, a PE ratio of -10.81 and a beta of 2.35.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $50.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.23 million. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 25.62% and a negative return on equity of 19.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.18) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that nLIGHT will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other nLIGHT news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 4,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total value of $51,033.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,961,204.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLIGHT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 15.0% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 9.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 13,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of nLIGHT during the third quarter worth $179,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in nLIGHT during the second quarter valued at $197,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.88% 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.