Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.25.

Onto Innovation Stock Down 3.9 %

ONTO stock traded down $7.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $176.15. 938,713 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,974. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.39, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.99. Onto Innovation has a 12-month low of $145.15 and a 12-month high of $238.93.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.41%. Research analysts predict that Onto Innovation will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Onto Innovation

In other news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total transaction of $7,671,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. This trade represents a 18.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Onto Innovation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 38.1% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,072,796 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $222,670,000 after acquiring an additional 295,869 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 811.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 319,116 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $66,236,000 after acquiring an additional 284,115 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,893,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,946,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Onto Innovation by 12.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,008,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $416,863,000 after acquiring an additional 228,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements.