Novanta Inc. $NOVT Shares Newly Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,883,199 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,152,000. Novanta makes up 0.6% of Aberdeen Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.10% of Novanta at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in Novanta by 29.5% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novanta by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,914 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Novanta by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 2,499 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Stock Performance

NOVT opened at $118.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.71. Novanta Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.27 and a twelve month high of $176.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The technology company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Novanta had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $305.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOVT shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Novanta from $194.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Novanta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.00.

Novanta Company Profile

Novanta develops and manufactures precision technologies used in medical and advanced industrial applications. Its products include photonics and laser components, precision motion-control systems, machine-vision technologies, and related equipment and software. The company’s technologies are used in areas such as medical and surgical systems, life sciences, robotics, and industrial automation. Novanta serves customers internationally, with operations and customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.