nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) Short Interest Up 20.0% in March

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the February 28th total of 1,300,000 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 427,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

nLIGHT Price Performance

Shares of LASR traded down $0.91 on Thursday, reaching $7.17. 175,838 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 315,449. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.58. The firm has a market cap of $351.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.97 and a beta of 2.24. nLIGHT has a 12 month low of $7.11 and a 12 month high of $14.73.

nLIGHT (NASDAQ:LASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that nLIGHT will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LASR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of 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 decreased 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 53,511 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,267,927 shares in the company, valued at $10,358,963.59. This represents a 4.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in nLIGHT by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of nLIGHT by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,772 shares during the last quarter. 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.