Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $174.17, but opened at $159.69. Novanta shares last traded at $156.94, with a volume of 32,489 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Novanta from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Novanta Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $174.21 and its 200-day moving average is $169.69. The company has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 95.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. Novanta had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $235.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Novanta Inc. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Novanta

In other news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 1,111 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.45, for a total transaction of $200,479.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 120,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,729,608.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 9,150 shares of company stock worth $1,608,936 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Novanta by 33.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Novanta during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Novanta by 38.3% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 361 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Novanta

Novanta Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides precision medicine and manufacturing, medical solutions, and robotics and automation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Precision Medicine and Manufacturing, Medical Solutions, and Robotics and Automation.