Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Monday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 3.500-3.650 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 3.610. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.0 billion-$1.1 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.0 billion. Novanta also updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 0.750-0.800 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Novanta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Novanta currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Novanta Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ NOVT opened at $142.38 on Tuesday. Novanta has a 1-year low of $98.27 and a 1-year high of $153.20. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.89. The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 96.86 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novanta had a net margin of 5.50% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business had revenue of $258.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.72 million. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novanta will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,423 shares of Novanta stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.14, for a total value of $199,419.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 91,034 shares in the company, valued at $12,757,504.76. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.04, for a total value of $1,087,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 57,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,320,509.68. This represents a 11.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,923 shares of company stock valued at $3,182,264. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Novanta News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Novanta this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 adjusted earnings beat consensus and top?line growth — Novanta reported adjusted EPS of $0.91 vs. the $0.88 consensus and revenue of $258.3M (up ~8.5% YoY), with gross profit expansion. This confirms underlying demand in core medical and advanced-technology end markets. Novanta Announces Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 guidance roughly in line — management set FY2026 EPS at $3.50–3.65, which is close to the Street (~$3.61). The range provides a full-year revenue framework ($1.0B–$1.1B) but doesn’t materially change the long?term outlook. Assessing Novanta Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance missed Street expectations — Novanta lowered Q1 EPS guidance to $0.75–0.80 vs. the ~$0.85 consensus and set revenue guidance slightly below estimates, signaling a slower start to the year and prompting near-term downward revisions. Novanta Announces Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Weak operating cash flow and margin pressure — reported operating cash flow plunged year?over?year (Quiver cites a steep drop to ~$8.8M), and cost of sales rose, which compressed operating profit even as revenue grew. These are near?term profitability and cash?generation concerns. Novanta Stock Falls on Q4 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling activity — notable insider sales in recent months (including by senior management) are being flagged by market participants and can increase short-term selling pressure. Insider Trading Details

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novanta

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOVT. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Novanta by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 68,089 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,102,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Novanta in the 4th quarter valued at $1,285,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Novanta in the 4th quarter worth $314,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Novanta

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.