nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) Short Interest Update

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 21.8% from the March 15th total of 1,560,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 415,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on nLIGHT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

nLIGHT Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of LASR stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $7.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,559. nLIGHT has a fifty-two week low of $6.20 and a fifty-two week high of $14.73. The company has a market capitalization of $373.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.41 and a beta of 2.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $8.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.16.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $47.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.62 million. nLIGHT had a negative net margin of 24.16% and a negative return on equity of 19.53%. Sell-side analysts predict that nLIGHT will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at nLIGHT

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total transaction of $437,184.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,963.59. This trade represents a 4.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On nLIGHT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LASR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 190.5% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 94,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $732,000 after buying an additional 61,783 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 6,563.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 4,791 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 345.1% in 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 last quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. boosted its holdings in nLIGHT by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. AWM Investment Company Inc. now owns 1,018,993 shares of the company's stock worth $10,689,000 after purchasing an additional 90,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in nLIGHT by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 82,990 shares of the company's stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 5,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.