Insider Selling: Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) CEO Sells 35,000 Shares of Stock

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total value of $7,671,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. This trade represents a 18.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

Shares of ONTO traded up $5.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $224.76. The stock had a trading volume of 780,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 804,981. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.58. The company has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.91, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.29. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.15 and a 1-year high of $238.93.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $252.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.85 million. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Onto Innovation

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in Onto Innovation by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Onto Innovation by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in Onto Innovation by 232.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 3.6% in the third quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.75.

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements.