nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) Short Interest Up 17.1% in January

nLIGHT, Inc. (NASDAQ:LASR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, an increase of 17.1% from the January 15th total of 1,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 422,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LASR shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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 dropped their price target on nLIGHT from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th.

nLIGHT Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ LASR traded down $0.38 on Monday, hitting $9.99. 378,424 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 415,670. The company has a market capitalization of $483.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.70 and a beta of 2.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.07. nLIGHT has a 52-week low of $9.15 and a 52-week high of $14.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Joseph John Corso sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.92, for a total transaction of $27,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 155,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,694,008.68. This trade represents a 1.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Keeney sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.19, for a total value of $167,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,340,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,996,233.74. This trade represents a 1.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,019 shares of company stock worth $331,365 in the last quarter. 6.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On nLIGHT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LASR. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of nLIGHT by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 2,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 9.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 18,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 24,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 90,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of nLIGHT by 17.6% in the fourth 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. 83.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.