Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on NOVT. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Novanta in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $180.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

NOVT stock opened at $148.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.49 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.87. Novanta has a fifty-two week low of $98.27 and a fifty-two week high of $171.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $253.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Novanta’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Novanta will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.13, for a total value of $1,047,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,761 shares in the company, valued at $4,795,389.93. The trade was a 17.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novanta

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NOVT. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 187.3% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 736,954 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,691,000 after acquiring an additional 480,413 shares during the period. Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new position in Novanta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,265,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Novanta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,719,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Novanta by 206.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 600,146 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 404,097 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 27.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,776,694 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $210,307,000 after purchasing an additional 377,232 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novanta Company 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.