Novanta Inc. $NOVT Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its Novanta stake by 484.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 40,071 additional shares and ending with 48,336 shares worth about $5.75 million.
• Insider selling included CFO Robert Buckley and CEO Matthijs Glastra, who both reduced their holdings in separate transactions; insiders sold 23,957 shares worth about $3.14 million over the last quarter.
• Novanta reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $257.71 million, both ahead of estimates, while analysts currently have a consensus Hold rating and a $173 price target.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 484.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,336 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,071 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.14% of Novanta worth $5,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOVT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Novanta by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,399,462 shares of the technology company's stock worth $155,536,000 after purchasing an additional 604,055 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Novanta by 1,114.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 391,148 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,173,000 after purchasing an additional 358,941 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Novanta by 101.6% in the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 627,093 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,803,000 after purchasing an additional 315,978 shares in the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Novanta in the third quarter worth about $21,919,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Novanta by 949.1% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 213,868 shares of the technology company's stock worth $21,419,000 after purchasing an additional 193,482 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Novanta

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NOVT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Novanta from $144.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $173.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NOVT stock opened at $154.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $129.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.05. Novanta Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.27 and a 52 week high of $165.56. The company has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.23 and a beta of 1.62.

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