What Happened?
Shares of laser company nLIGHT (NASDAQ: LASR) jumped 3.3% in the afternoon session after reports revealed that the Trump administration was considering a new plan to compel companies to move more chip production stateside.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House was exploring a proposal that would require companies to manufacture the same quantity of chips in the U.S. as their customers import from abroad. Companies failing to meet this 1:1 ratio would reportedly face a tariff. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick engaged in discussions with chipmaker executives regarding the potential measure.
This move represents another significant effort to boost domestic manufacturing, reduce the nation's reliance on foreign-made semiconductors, and strengthen the national supply chain for these critical components.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $29.08, up 3.7% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
nLIGHT’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 36 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 8 days ago when the stock gained 3% on the news that 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.
nLIGHT is up 180% since the beginning of the year, and at $29.08 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $31.55 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of nLIGHT’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,242.
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