HighTower Advisors LLC Takes $257,000 Position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,417 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Novanta by 33.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Novanta by 38.3% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 361 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Novanta by 47.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NOVT stock opened at $155.56 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $169.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.21. Novanta Inc. has a one year low of $146.86 and a one year high of $187.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.15 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.81.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85. Novanta had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $244.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $242.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Novanta’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $1,347,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,131,845.40. This trade represents a 11.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 3,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.01, for a total transaction of $636,876.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 120,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,954,110.19. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,271 shares of company stock worth $2,185,107 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Novanta from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Novanta Profile

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.