Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $145.02 and last traded at $146.50, with a volume of 15586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Novanta from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Novanta Stock Down 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.79. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.73 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.51.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. The firm had revenue of $244.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.33 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Novanta news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $1,347,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,382 shares in the company, valued at $10,131,845.40. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Novanta by 61.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 214,893 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,916,000 after purchasing an additional 81,942 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Novanta by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 734,728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,457,000 after buying an additional 69,858 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Novanta by 110.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $17,938,000 after acquiring an additional 52,573 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Novanta by 215.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 65,564 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 44,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Novanta by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 205,713 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,806,000 after acquiring an additional 43,400 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novanta Company Profile

Novanta, Inc engages in the provision of core technology solutions to healthcare and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers. It operates through the following segments: Photonics, Vision, and Precision Motion. The Photonics segment designs, manufactures, and markets photonics-based solutions, including laser scanning and laser beam delivery, CO2 laser, continuous wave and ultrafast laser, and optical light engine products.