nLight LASR shares soared 5.9% in the last trading session to close at $10.46. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 2.3% loss over the past four weeks.

nLight is benefiting from strong growth in its aerospace and defense business, driven by increased demand for directed energy systems and laser sensing products.

This laser maker is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.14 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -7.7%. Revenues are expected to be $51.15 million, down 1.4% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For nLight, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on LASR going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

nLight is a member of the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry. One other stock in the same industry, Ambarella AMBA, finished the last trading session 2.7% higher at $78.18. AMBA has returned 9.2% over the past month.

Ambarella's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.01. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +95.8%. Ambarella currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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