Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $133.00.

Novanta Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:NOVT opened at $119.35 on Thursday. Novanta has a 12-month low of $98.27 and a 12-month high of $157.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.19 and a beta of 1.59.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $247.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $245.95 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 5.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.240-3.300 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.870-0.930 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Novanta will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Novanta announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in Novanta during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Novanta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

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.