Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's What Happened

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $145.02 and last traded at $146.50, with a volume of 15586 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $150.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Novanta from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Novanta Trading Up 0.7 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $164.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.39. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.86 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.79.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.85. The company had revenue of $244.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $242.33 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $1,347,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,131,845.40. This represents a 11.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Novanta

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOVT. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Novanta by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 214,893 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,916,000 after purchasing an additional 81,942 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Novanta by 61.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,469 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,471 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novanta in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,619 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in Novanta by 215.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 65,564 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,731,000 after purchasing an additional 44,756 shares during the period. 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.