Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $1.98 Million Position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 188,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,976,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of nLIGHT as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of nLIGHT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $123,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in nLIGHT by 2.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 385,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,124,000 after acquiring an additional 8,139 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in nLIGHT by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in nLIGHT by 292.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 37,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 27,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of nLIGHT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

nLIGHT Stock Performance

nLIGHT stock opened at $7.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.54 and a beta of 2.29. nLIGHT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.59 and a 52-week high of $14.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.62.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.21). nLIGHT had a negative return on equity of 19.53% and a negative net margin of 24.16%. The company had revenue of $47.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.62 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that nLIGHT, Inc. will post -1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at nLIGHT

In other nLIGHT news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.17, for a total value of $437,184.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,267,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,358,963.59. This trade represents a 4.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LASR. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of nLIGHT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of nLIGHT from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

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.