What Happened?
Shares of laser company nLIGHT (NASDAQ: LASR) jumped 3% in the morning session after analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their fiscal year 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for the company.
The firm's analyst now expected nLight to earn ($0.40) per share for the year, an improvement from the prior forecast of ($0.45), while keeping an "Overweight" rating on the stock. This increased optimism appeared linked to the company's recent operational wins, including a strong year-over-year revenue increase and a significant new $171 million defense contract for the HELSI-2 program. Adding to the positive mood, broader market sentiment was lifted after the Federal Reserve indicated that most of its members foresaw at least two more quarter-point interest rate cuts by the end of the year, signaling a belief that inflation risks were lessening.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $30.72, up 4.1% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
nLIGHT’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 34 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock gained 4.6% on the news that an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald maintained an 'Overweight' rating on the shares while significantly raising the price target.
The analyst, Troy Jensen, increased the price target by 21.82% from $27.50 to $33.50, signaling strong confidence in the company's future performance. This positive outlook from Cantor Fitzgerald aligns with a broader trend of bullish sentiment from market analysts. The new target of $33.50 represents the high-end estimate among recent analyst evaluations, which have an average 12-month price target of $27.43 for the company, reflecting growing optimism about the stock's value.
nLIGHT is up 195% since the beginning of the year, and at $30.72 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of nLIGHT’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,280.
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