Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Has $173.52 Million Stake in Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,458,259 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,540 shares during the period. Novanta comprises approximately 2.9% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Novanta were worth $173,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Novanta by 1,291.4% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 487 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Novanta by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NOVT stock opened at $129.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.72 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50 day moving average is $126.19 and its 200 day moving average is $124.14. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.27 and a 52-week high of $149.95.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $258.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.72 million. Novanta had a net margin of 5.49% and a return on equity of 13.12%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In other Novanta news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of Novanta stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total value of $1,162,678.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,281,850.32. The trade was a 9.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Novanta stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.04, for a total transaction of $1,087,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 57,367 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,380 shares of company stock worth $3,296,276. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NOVT shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Novanta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $150.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Novanta currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.00.

Novanta Profile

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.