nLIGHT

LASR · NASDAQ

$36.22+$1.43 (+4.11%)TodayMarket closed · Oct 20, 7:35 PM ET

Prev close $34.79

LASR analyst rating

BuyConsensus of 7 analysts over the last 12 months. 100% rate it a buy.

Strong buy0
Buy7
Hold0
Underperform0
Sell0

12-month price target · 9 analysts

Average $90.63 (+150.2% upside)

Low: $81.81
Now: $36.22
High: $105.00

Upgrades and downgrades

The latest rating actions, newest first

LASR analyst upgrades, downgrades and rating actions
Firm	Date	Action	Rating	Price target	Hit rate
Needham	Jul 10, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$80.00 → $90.00	59%
Craig-Hallum	Jul 9, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$80.00 → $100.00	50%
Stifel	May 21, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$75.00 → $85.00	73%
Needham	May 8, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$70.00 → $80.00	59%
Stifel	Apr 20, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$68.00 → $75.00	73%
William Blair	Mar 27, 2026	Initiates	Outperform	—	66%
Baird	Mar 4, 2026	Initiates	Outperform	$95.00	69%
Cantor Fitzgerald	Feb 27, 2026	Maintains	Overweight	$40.00 → $62.50	47%
Needham	Feb 27, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$48.00 → $70.00	59%
Roth Capital	Feb 3, 2026	Maintains	Buy	$44.00 → $55.00	30%

The case for and against

Updated Oct 15, 2026

Bull case

nLight is benefiting from a powerful shift toward a pure-play directed-energy and laser sensing defense platform, with A&D revenue up 69% in Q1 and product defense revenue up 98% y/y, signaling that development programs are transitioning into higher-value production. The Pentagon award, initially valued at $44MM with a program ceiling of up to $627MM, adds meaningful near-term visibility and supports an expanding funnel of follow-on awards through 2027 and 2028. Strong liquidity of $332.9MM in cash and investments, plus positive operating cash flow of $9.7MM and free cash flow, gives it flexibility to fund manufacturing expansion and scale as defense demand accelerates.

Bear case

nLight is facing a risk profile dominated by macroeconomic weakness, a deeper downturn, and softer end-market demand that could hit both fiber and semiconductor laser sales. Customer concentration, intensifying competition, and pricing or margin pressure further threaten revenue quality and could erode profitability despite the company’s guided Q2 revenue of $75MM-$81MM and Adjusted EBITDA of $8MM-$12MM. Although gross margin is expected at 29%-33% and defense demand remains supportive, sequential A&D growth may be offset by lower advanced development revenue after milestone deliveries, limiting upside.

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