Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Stock Price Down 13.4% – Here’s Why

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) shares dropped 13.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $115.16 and last traded at $114.7220. Approximately 574,101 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 78% from the average daily volume of 322,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $132.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NOVT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Novanta from $139.00 to $133.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Novanta currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Novanta Stock Down 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.03 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.06. Novanta had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 6.41%.The firm had revenue of $247.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $245.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Novanta’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.240-3.300 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.870-0.930 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novanta announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Novanta during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Novanta during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Novanta during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 329.8% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Novanta in the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Novanta

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.