Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Price Target Raised to $173.00 at Robert W. Baird

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $144.00 to $173.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NOVT. Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Novanta presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.00.

Novanta Price Performance

Shares of Novanta stock opened at $159.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 115.36 and a beta of 1.62. Novanta has a 12-month low of $98.27 and a 12-month high of $163.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.75.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $257.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $253.40 million. Novanta had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 13.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novanta will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In other news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total transaction of $845,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,381,768.05. The trade was a 10.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $1,162,678.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,281,850.32. The trade was a 9.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,880 shares of company stock valued at $2,208,476 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Novanta

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOVT. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Novanta by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,399,462 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $155,536,000 after buying an additional 604,055 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 480,413 shares during the period. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in Novanta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,265,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Novanta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,719,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 206.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 600,146 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $72,540,000 after purchasing an additional 404,097 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is currently 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.