Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $98.27 and last traded at $98.5950, with a volume of 52334 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Novanta from $139.00 to $133.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $133.00.

Novanta Stock Down 0.3%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $111.46 and its 200 day moving average is $119.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 58.44 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The technology company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $247.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.95 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 14.70%. Novanta’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. Novanta has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.240-3.300 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.870-0.930 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Novanta declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,153,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Novanta by 1,114.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 391,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,173,000 after acquiring an additional 358,941 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Novanta by 101.6% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 627,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,803,000 after purchasing an additional 315,978 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Novanta during the second quarter valued at $29,982,000. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Novanta in the third quarter valued at $21,919,000. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Novanta

Novanta, Inc engages in the provision of core technology solutions to healthcare and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers. It operates through the following segments: Photonics, Vision, and Precision Motion. The Photonics segment designs, manufactures, and markets photonics-based solutions, including laser scanning and laser beam delivery, CO2 laser, continuous wave and ultrafast laser, and optical light engine products.