Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Lowered to "Sell (D+)" Rating by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Novanta's stock rating was downgraded from "hold (C-)" to "sell (D+)" by Weiss Ratings, indicating a negative outlook from analysts.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.76, surpassing estimates, with revenues up 2.2% year-over-year, highlighting some financial resilience.
• Novanta approved a $200 million stock buyback program, reflecting management's belief that the stock is undervalued, despite the recent downgrade.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday,Weiss Ratings reports.

NOVT has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Novanta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Novanta from $139.00 to $133.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novanta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Novanta Stock Up 8.3%

NOVT stock opened at $128.65 on Friday. Novanta has a 52-week low of $98.76 and a 52-week high of $184.11. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $111.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.03. 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 $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.68 and a beta of 1.49.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $241.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $237.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. The firm's 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Novanta will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Novanta announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Novanta

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Novanta in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Novanta by 146.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Novanta by 329.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 404 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Novanta in the second quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Novanta by 80.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 414 shares of the technology company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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