Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) by 6.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,549,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107,375 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in nLIGHT were worth $16,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LASR. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of nLIGHT by 15.0% in 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in nLIGHT by 16.7% in 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 during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in 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 valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in nLIGHT in the second quarter valued at $197,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in nLIGHT by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLIGHT Stock Performance

LASR opened at $11.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $524.64 million, a P/E ratio of -10.81 and a beta of 2.36. nLIGHT, Inc. has a one year low of $8.13 and a one year high of $15.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.78.

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

Insider Activity at nLIGHT

In other nLIGHT news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 4,461 shares of nLIGHT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total value of $51,033.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,961,204.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LASR. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of nLIGHT in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “speculative buy” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of nLIGHT in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of nLIGHT in a research report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $15.50 price objective for the company.

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.