Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $162.00 and last traded at $160.2420, with a volume of 220697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.98.

The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. Novanta had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 5.49%.The business had revenue of $257.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $253.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NOVT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Novanta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $1,162,678.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,281,850.32. This represents a 9.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $845,325.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,381,768.05. This represents a 10.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 17,880 shares of company stock valued at $2,208,476 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novanta

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Novanta by 978.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 399 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Novanta by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novanta Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 3.69. The firm has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 109.07 and a beta of 1.62. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.45.

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.