The stock of nLIGHT Inc (NASDAQ: LASR) has increased by 1.12 when compared to last closing price of 7.12.Despite this, the company has seen a gain of 2.56% in its stock price over the last five trading days. seekingalpha.com reported 2025-03-09 that nLIGHT, Inc. is pivoting towards aerospace and defense, which now accounts for 60% of its revenue, showing promising growth potential. Despite a 39% YoY decline in industrial laser sales, LASR’s backlog orders increased by 55% YoY in 2024, indicating future revenue stability. LASR’s vertically integrated operations and strong IP portfolio provide a competitive edge, especially in the growing defense sector with significant new contracts.
Is It Worth Investing in nLIGHT Inc (NASDAQ: LASR) Right Now?
LASR has 36-month beta value of 1.99. Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with 4 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 1 as “overweight,” 3 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”
The public float for LASR is 46.40M, and currently, short sellers hold a 4.09% ratio of that float. The average trading volume of LASR on April 18, 2025 was 397.83K shares.
LASR’s Market Performance
LASR’s stock has seen a 2.56% increase for the week, with a -19.46% drop in the past month and a -31.17% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 5.35%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 7.14% for nLIGHT Inc The simple moving average for the past 20 days is -5.46% for LASR’s stock, with a -32.16% simple moving average for the past 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of LASR
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for LASR stocks, with Cantor Fitzgerald repeating the rating for LASR by listing it as a “Overweight.” The predicted price for LASR in the upcoming period, according to Cantor Fitzgerald is $15.50 based on the research report published on October 03, 2024 of the previous year 2024.
The Benchmark Company, on the other hand, stated in their research note that they expect to see LASR reach a price target of $17. The rating they have provided for LASR stocks is “Speculative Buy” according to the report published on November 28th, 2023.
Needham gave a rating of “Buy” to LASR, setting the target price at $16 in the report published on November 28th of the previous year.
LASR Trading at -18.48% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought LASR to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -51.10% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 7.14%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 5.35%, as shares sank -18.46% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading -35.83% lower at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, LASR rose by +2.56%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by -34.31% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $7.62. In addition, nLIGHT Inc saw -31.36% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at LASR starting from Corso Joseph John, who sale 4,182 shares at the price of $8.18 back on Mar 04 ’25. After this action, Corso Joseph John now owns 131,956 shares of nLIGHT Inc, valued at $34,209 using the latest closing price.
Corso Joseph John, the Chief Financial Officer of nLIGHT Inc, sale 2,500 shares at $9.24 during a trade that took place back on Mar 03 ’25, which means that Corso Joseph John is holding 136,138 shares at $23,100 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for LASR
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- -0.33 for the present operating margin
- 0.17 for the gross margin
The net margin for nLIGHT Inc stands at -0.31. The total capital return value is set at -0.28. Equity return is now at value -25.82, with -20.90 for asset returns.
Based on nLIGHT Inc (LASR), the company’s capital structure generated 0.05 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at -0.19.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is -43.75 million with net debt to EBITDA at 1.23. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 1.51. The receivables turnover for the company is 5.69for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.73. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 5.67.
Conclusion
To put it simply, nLIGHT Inc (LASR) has had a bad performance in recent times. Analysts have a bullish opinion on the stock, with some rating it as a “buy” and others as a “hold”. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
