Sculptor Capital LP Makes New $51.27 Million Investment in Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Sculptor Capital LP bought a new position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 430,838 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,265,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,399,462 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $155,536,000 after buying an additional 604,055 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 187.3% during the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 736,954 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $87,691,000 after buying an additional 480,413 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the 4th quarter worth $50,719,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 206.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 600,146 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,540,000 after buying an additional 404,097 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 217,908.2% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 346,633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,246,000 after buying an additional 346,474 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Novanta news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.43, for a total value of $1,128,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,432,537.23. This represents a 14.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on NOVT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Novanta in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.00.

Novanta Price Performance

Shares of Novanta stock opened at $156.63 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.69. Novanta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.27 and a fifty-two week high of $171.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $143.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.17. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 113.50 and a beta of 1.67.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Novanta had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $257.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $253.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS. Analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Novanta Profile

Novanta, Inc (NASDAQ: NOVT) is a global technology company that designs and manufactures precision components, subsystems and software used in advanced photonics and motion control applications. The company serves customers in the medical device and advanced industrial markets, supplying critical technologies for diagnostics and therapeutic systems, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, and scientific instrumentation. Novanta’s product portfolio includes laser control modules, optics, beam delivery systems, high-precision motors, actuators, stages, and fluidics solutions designed to meet stringent accuracy and reliability requirements.

Novanta’s Photonics segment delivers laser and energy delivery components that enable minimally invasive surgical procedures and diagnostic imaging.