Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Novanta Inc. by 98.5%, selling 227,682 shares, leaving them with only 3,401 shares valued at approximately $435,000.
• Novanta reported a net revenue of $241.05 million for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and an EPS of $0.76, slightly above the consensus estimate.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Novanta from "hold" to "buy," indicating positive market sentiment and expectations for future growth.

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 98.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,401 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 227,682 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Novanta were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Novanta by 1.3% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,365,252 shares of the technology company's stock worth $174,575,000 after acquiring an additional 17,220 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 680,169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $103,910,000 after buying an additional 279,793 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Novanta by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 487,688 shares of the technology company's stock worth $74,504,000 after purchasing an additional 59,986 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Novanta by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 457,225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $69,850,000 after purchasing an additional 41,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Novanta by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 151,430 shares of the technology company's stock worth $19,362,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOVT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Novanta from $139.00 to $133.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday.

Novanta Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ NOVT traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $113.14. The company had a trading volume of 452,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,215. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.45 and a 200 day moving average of $128.90. Novanta Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.76 and a 1-year high of $186.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.55 and a beta of 1.48.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Novanta had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $241.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $237.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.