Empowered Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 7,788 Onto Innovation Inc. $ONTO

Key Points

• Empowered Funds acquired 7,788 Onto Innovation shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.95 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.35% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $380.30 target price. Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Needham issued buy ratings, while Needham raised its target to $360.
• Onto Innovation reported a quarterly earnings and revenue beat, with EPS of $1.93 and revenue of $343.13 million, up 35.3% year over year. However, a director sold 1,000 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, and a shareholder investigation introduces legal and governance uncertainty.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,788 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,947,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ONTO. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,266 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,877,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Onto Innovation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,083,436,000. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $69,000,000. Finally, Dockside LLC bought a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,823,000. 98.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on ONTO shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Onto Innovation from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Onto Innovation in a research note on Monday, August 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $350.00 price target for the company. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Onto Innovation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $380.30.

More Onto Innovation News

Here are the key news stories impacting Onto Innovation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst estimates increased: Zacks Research raised its “Strong Buy” outlook and lifted EPS forecasts across 2026–2028. Estimates now call for $7.88 in FY2026, $10.88 in FY2027 and $12.22 in FY2028, up from prior forecasts of $6.78, $8.71 and $9.44, respectively. The firm also increased its Q3 2026 estimate to $2.20 from $1.73. The revisions suggest stronger anticipated demand and earnings growth for Onto’s semiconductor-inspection business. MarketBeat Onto Innovation analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider stock sale: Director Lynch sold 1,000 shares for approximately $302,000 on August 21, representing about 27% of his directly held shares before the filing. The sale may raise caution about insider sentiment, although it does not establish that management expects weaker operating results. Onto Innovation director stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder investigation announced: Levi & Korsinsky said it is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duties by certain Onto Innovation officers and directors. The announcement does not allege that wrongdoing has been proven, but it creates legal and governance uncertainty and is the clearest near-term negative catalyst for the stock. Levi and Korsinsky Onto Innovation investigation

Insider Buying and Selling at Onto Innovation

In related news, Director Susan D. Lynch sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.30, for a total transaction of $302,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $811,373.20. This trade represents a 27.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Onto Innovation Stock Down 0.6%

ONTO stock opened at $254.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 95.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 8.33, a current ratio of 9.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.06 and a 52 week high of $386.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $296.63 and a 200 day moving average of $267.77.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $343.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $325.29 million. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 13.44% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm's revenue was up 35.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Onto Innovation has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.180-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current year.

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation NYSE: ONTO is a global supplier of advanced process control and inspection systems for semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. The company's solutions span metrology, inspection, defect review and lithography mask repair, helping customers optimize yield, reduce costs and improve device performance. By integrating high-resolution optical and e-beam tools with sophisticated software analytics, Onto Innovation enables wafer, mask and advanced packaging producers to maintain tight process control across leading-edge nodes and specialty applications.

Key products include high-throughput wafer metrology systems, optical and e-beam defect inspection platforms, mask inspection and repair tools, and data-driven software for yield management and process optimization.

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