Axiom Investors LLC DE Raises Holdings in Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Key Points

• Axiom Investors boosted its Novanta stake by 179.9% in the fourth quarter, while several other institutional investors also added shares; about 98.35% of Novanta’s stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Novanta’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, posting $0.81 EPS versus the $0.78 estimate and revenue of $257.71 million, up 10.4% year over year. The company also issued FY2026 guidance of $3.50–$3.65 EPS.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock’s average rating is currently Hold with an average price target of $180. Meanwhile, insiders have recently sold shares, including CEO Matthijs Glastra and CFO Robert Buckley.

Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 179.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,912 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 30,796 shares during the quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.13% of Novanta worth $5,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOVT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Novanta by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,399,462 shares of the technology company's stock worth $155,536,000 after acquiring an additional 604,055 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Novanta in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,719,000. Bamco Inc. NY increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 627,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,803,000 after acquiring an additional 315,978 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,919,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 949.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 213,868 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $21,419,000 after acquiring an additional 193,482 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price target on Novanta in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.00.

Novanta Stock Down 2.2%

NOVT opened at $160.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.41 and a beta of 1.68. Novanta Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.27 and a 12 month high of $171.85.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $257.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $253.40 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.35%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novanta

In other Novanta news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.43, for a total transaction of $1,128,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 42,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,432,537.23. This trade represents a 14.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total value of $1,162,678.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,281,850.32. The trade was a 9.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,957 shares of company stock valued at $3,136,229 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Novanta Profile

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.

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