Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Position in Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Royal Bank of Canada cut its stake in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,786 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 26,271 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Novanta were worth $25,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Novanta by 27.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,776,694 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $210,307,000 after purchasing an additional 377,232 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Novanta by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,458,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $173,518,000 after purchasing an additional 47,540 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Novanta by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,319,474 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $157,004,000 after purchasing an additional 13,603 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Novanta by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,100,029 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $141,827,000 after purchasing an additional 104,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in Novanta by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 936,962 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $111,489,000 after purchasing an additional 309,869 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.43, for a total value of $1,128,225.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 42,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,432,537.23. This represents a 14.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NOVT opened at $159.49 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $154.02 and its 200 day moving average is $141.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.56. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.57 and a beta of 1.68. Novanta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.27 and a fifty-two week high of $171.85.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. Novanta had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $257.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $253.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOVT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Novanta in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Novanta has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

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.