Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Saturday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $85.88 and last traded at $88.50, with a volume of 8576820 shares. The stock had previously closed at $126.81.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on ONTO. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $150.00 to $130.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ONTO. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 8,165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Onto Innovation by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,533 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC raised its position in Onto Innovation by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 2,415 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 2.9% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Onto Innovation Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $124.11 and its 200-day moving average is $159.49.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $267.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $267.03 million. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Onto Innovation's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements.