Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Stock Price Down 8.8% on Insider Selling

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)’s share price fell 8.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $153.83 and last traded at $150.4350. Approximately 49,353 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 464,784 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.89.

Specifically, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of Novanta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.13, for a total transaction of $1,047,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,795,389.93. The trade was a 17.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOVT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on Novanta in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.00.

Novanta Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $154.02 and its 200 day moving average is $137.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 107.67 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.56.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $257.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $253.40 million. Novanta had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Novanta’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last 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, research analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Novanta by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novanta by 9.0% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,989 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Novanta by 1.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 10,746 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

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.