Wall Street Zen Upgrades Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) to Buy

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on NOVT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 target price on shares of Novanta in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novanta has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NOVT opened at $163.86 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 4.57 and a quick ratio of 3.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 105.04 and a beta of 1.68. Novanta has a one year low of $98.27 and a one year high of $176.38.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. Novanta had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 6.00%.The firm had revenue of $265.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $262.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.680-3.740 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Novanta will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.13, for a total value of $1,047,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 29,761 shares in the company, valued at $4,795,389.93. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Novanta by 187.3% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 736,954 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $87,691,000 after acquiring an additional 480,413 shares in the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in Novanta in the 4th quarter worth about $51,265,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Novanta in the 4th quarter worth about $50,719,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Novanta by 206.1% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 600,146 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,540,000 after acquiring an additional 404,097 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Novanta by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,776,694 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $210,307,000 after acquiring an additional 377,232 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Novanta Company 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.