nLight (LASR) is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) that has an F for Value and an A for Growth. This stock was added to Home Run Investor back on 5/23/25 and has been an outstanding selection. Our entry price is $14.68 and a little after the open on Friday we were looking at a 480% return in just about 1 year. The company has now posted three straight beat and raise quarters and that is something that we love to see. Let’s learn more about why this stock is the Bull of the Day.
Description
nLight, Inc. engages in the provision of semiconductor and fiber lasers for aerospace and defense, industrial, and microfabrication applications. It operates through the Laser Products and Advanced Development segments. The Laser Products segment designs, manufactures, and sells a range of semiconductor lasers and fiber lasers that are typically integrated into laser systems or manufacturing tools built by customers. The Advanced Development segment focuses on research, design, and prototyping of next-generation laser technologies, leveraging expertise in laser technology, development, beam control, and advanced optics. The company was founded by Scott H. Keeney, Mark DeVito, and Jason Farmer in June 2000 and is headquartered in Camas, WA.
Earnings History
When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number. This tells me right away where the market’s expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market. A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved. That is what you want to see.
nLight (LASR) has reported four straight beats of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Over the course of the last year, the average positive earnings surprise works out to be 161%. This means they are not just beating the number, they are crushing it. Consistently.
The company recently reported a gain of 20 cents when the Zacks Consensus Estimate was calling for 8 cents and that 12 cent beat translates to a positive earnings surprise of 150%.
Earnings Estimates Revisions
Earnings estimate revisions is what the Zacks Rank is all about.
Estimates for 2026 are moving up fornLight (LASR).
The current fiscal year 2026 has increased from $0.35 to $0.36 over the last 30 days. At the time of writing this article, new estimates have not made it through the Zacks system but they are very likely to be revised even higher.
Fiscal 2027 has increased from $0.56 to $0.57 over the last 30 days.
It should be noted that nLight (LASR) has posted three straight beat and raise quarters – something that growth investors love to see.
Valuation
The valuation is a little stretched here, but that is something that growth investors have come to expect when a company continuously exceeds expectations. I see a forward earnings multiple of 145x which is super high, but we have to factor in the company just posted 71% topline growth. Price to book comes in at 14x and that is high but we have to keep in mind that this can also mean that the company is very efficient as it has a small amount of assets on the books that help it grow at very large rates. Operating margins are negative right now, but they are moving in the right direction.
Home Run Investor is an inexpensive service that looks for small cap stocks that have big potential. This stock will remain in the portfolio as we believe that there is a good chance that these big returns go even higher.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).