Novanta Inc. $NOVT Position Boosted by Truist Financial Corp

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp boosted its Novanta stake by 337.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9,963 shares valued at about $1.19 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, at 98.35% of the stock.
• Insiders have been selling shares: CFO Robert Buckley and CEO Matthijs Glastra both reduced their holdings, and insiders sold 25,380 shares worth about $3.34 million in the last quarter.
• Novanta reported stronger-than-expected results for the latest quarter, with EPS of $0.81 on revenue of $257.71 million, and raised guidance for FY 2026. Analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $173.

Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 337.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,963 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 7,684 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Novanta were worth $1,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Novanta by 1,291.4% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 487 shares of the technology company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Novanta by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was 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 owned 96,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,281,850.32. This represents a 9.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.43, for a total value of $1,128,225.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,432,537.23. This trade represents a 14.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,380 shares of company stock valued at $3,336,701 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOVT. Zacks Research raised Novanta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Novanta from $144.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $173.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NOVT opened at $152.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $126.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 3.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.86 and a beta of 1.62. Novanta Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.27 and a 1 year high of $165.56.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $257.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $253.40 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.35%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $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. Research analysts forecast that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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