Fenimore Asset Management Inc Buys Shares of 118,553 Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Key Points

• Fenimore Asset Management bought 118,553 shares of Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) in Q4, a new stake worth about $14.1 million representing roughly 0.33% of the company.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently—CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares and CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957, with insiders offloading 25,380 shares worth about $3.3 million in the last 90 days (insiders now own 1.20% of the stock).
• Wall Street consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $144; Novanta beat Q4 EPS estimates ($0.91 vs. $0.88) and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 3.50–3.65, while the stock trades with a ~$4.55 billion market cap and a high P/E of ~87.6.

Fenimore Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 118,553 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $14,107,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned about 0.33% of Novanta as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Novanta in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Novanta in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Novanta in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Novanta by 1,291.4% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 487 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Novanta by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $845,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,381,768.05. This represents a 10.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $1,162,678.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,281,850.32. This trade represents a 9.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,380 shares of company stock valued at $3,296,276 in the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOVT. Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Novanta in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Novanta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $150.00 to $144.00 in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novanta currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.00.

Novanta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NOVT opened at $127.87 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $126.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.58 and a beta of 1.62. Novanta Inc. has a one year low of $98.27 and a one year high of $149.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 2.80.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $258.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.72 million. Novanta had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 13.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Novanta Company 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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