Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Stock Price Up 8.8% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) rose 8.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $121.09 and last traded at $121.3280. Approximately 338,746 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average daily volume of 522,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on NOVT shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $133.00.

Novanta Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.82 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $116.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Novanta had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 5.50%.The business had revenue of $247.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.95 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.240-3.300 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.870-0.930 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOVT. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Novanta by 29.0% in the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 671 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 1.6% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,632 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 65.7% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 492 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Novanta by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,785 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Novanta by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,627 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

About Novanta

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.