Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Novanta from “hold” to “buy.” Other analyst views remain mixed, with one Buy and two Hold ratings, an average Hold consensus, and a $194 average price target.
• Novanta’s latest reported quarterly results beat estimates: EPS was $0.89 versus $0.83 expected, while revenue of $265.81 million exceeded the $262.30 million consensus and rose 10.3% year over year.
• Institutional ownership is high: hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of Novanta’s shares; Aberdeen Group reported a new position worth approximately $552 million.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NOVT. Zacks Research downgraded Novanta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Novanta in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 target price on Novanta in a research report on Friday, August 7th. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $194.00.

Novanta Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NOVT opened at $135.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 3.79 and a current ratio of 4.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.02 and a beta of 1.71. Novanta has a 52-week low of $98.27 and a 52-week high of $176.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.18 and a 200 day moving average of $142.57.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.06. Novanta had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 10.83%. The company had revenue of $265.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.30 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Novanta's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novanta will post 3.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aberdeen Group plc purchased a new position in Novanta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $552,152,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Novanta by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 641 shares of the technology company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Novanta by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 33,437 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,755,000 after buying an additional 5,702 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 819 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Novanta during the third quarter worth $39,000. 98.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Novanta Company Profile

Novanta Inc is a technology company that develops and manufactures precision equipment and components used primarily in medical and advanced industrial applications. Its solutions are designed to support the movement, imaging, measurement and processing functions of complex equipment.

The company's products include photonics and laser components, precision motion-control systems, medical imaging and visualization technologies, and equipment used in minimally invasive and robotic surgery.

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