Short Interest in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) Declines By 16.0%

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a drop of 16.0% from the August 31st total of 1,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 274,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of nLIGHT in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “speculative buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of nLIGHT in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Activity at nLIGHT

In other 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 owns 171,434 shares in the company, valued at $1,961,204.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLIGHT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in nLIGHT by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 16.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 1,886 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 9.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 13,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in nLIGHT during the second quarter valued at $197,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in nLIGHT by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.88% of the company’s stock.

nLIGHT Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LASR opened at $10.83 on Monday. nLIGHT has a 12 month low of $8.13 and a 12 month high of $15.00. The company has a market cap of $515.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.62 and a beta of 2.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.83.

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

About nLIGHT

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.