Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

NOVT has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 price objective on Novanta in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.00.

Novanta Price Performance

NOVT stock opened at $166.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.65 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $154.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.64. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Novanta has a 12-month low of $98.27 and a 12-month high of $176.38.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $265.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $262.30 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 10.83%. Novanta’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.680-3.740 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novanta will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.13, for a total value of $1,047,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,795,389.93. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Novanta during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Novanta by 978.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 399 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novanta by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Novanta in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Novanta in the second quarter worth approximately $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.