Novanta Inc. $NOVT Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Novanta Inc. by 37.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.80% of the company post-sale.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Millennium Management LLC, have also recently modified their positions in Novanta, reflecting active trading among major stakeholders.
• Analysts have downgraded Novanta's stock rating, with a consensus target price now set at $133.00 and a majority rating of "Hold" from multiple firms.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 286,749 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 170,476 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.80% of Novanta worth $36,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 1.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 485,196 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,042,000 after acquiring an additional 9,243 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 1.9% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 693,090 shares of the technology company's stock worth $88,626,000 after acquiring an additional 12,921 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 0.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 91,578 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,710,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Novanta in the first quarter worth $818,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Novanta by 39.9% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 19,999 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 5,704 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Novanta Trading Down 0.4%

NOVT stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $111.66. 208,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 296,989. The business's 50 day moving average price is $123.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.53. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.76 and a 52-week high of $184.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 65.12 and a beta of 1.50.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. Novanta had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 6.41%.The firm had revenue of $241.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.220-3.360 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.780-0.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOVT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Novanta from $139.00 to $133.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Novanta presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.00.

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.