Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $200.00 to $180.00. The stock had previously closed at $120.47, but opened at $114.85. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Onto Innovation shares last traded at $115.38, with a volume of 100,165 shares trading hands.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ONTO. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $240.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Onto Innovation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $218.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Onto Innovation

In other news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total transaction of $7,671,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. The trade was a 18.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at about $87,987,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,515,152 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $252,530,000 after buying an additional 444,860 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Onto Innovation by 72.2% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 870,250 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $145,045,000 after acquiring an additional 364,853 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,406,034 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $234,344,000 after buying an additional 356,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,553,271 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $258,883,000 after acquiring an additional 271,470 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $135.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.82.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 20.43%. As a group, analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.