Short Interest in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Decreases By 14.1%

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the January 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 859,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Onto Innovation Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ONTO opened at $135.03 on Wednesday. Onto Innovation has a 1-year low of $129.53 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.23. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Onto Innovation will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.88.

Insider Activity at Onto Innovation

In related news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total value of $4,003,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 215,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,139,343.48. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ONTO. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 287.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,458 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 834,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $173,401,000 after buying an additional 13,405 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 12.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,008,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $416,863,000 after buying an additional 228,800 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 3.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 253,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,637,000 after buying an additional 8,456 shares during the period. Finally, Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Onto Innovation by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 939,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $195,032,000 after acquiring an additional 23,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Company Profile

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.