Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the February 28th total of 1,510,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 964,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

ONTO traded up $1.69 on Tuesday, reaching $123.03. 713,973 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 739,815. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.06 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. Onto Innovation has a fifty-two week low of $116.16 and a fifty-two week high of $238.93.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts forecast that Onto Innovation will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Onto Innovation

In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total value of $7,671,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. This represents a 18.87 % 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 valued at $18,182,185. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 209.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 177.6% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Onto Innovation by 532.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ONTO. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.88.

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.