Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Stock Price

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $265.00 to $245.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Onto Innovation from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Onto Innovation from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.29.

Onto Innovation Stock Performance

ONTO stock traded down $22.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $175.95. 1,839,562 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,196. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $203.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.62. Onto Innovation has a 1-year low of $115.07 and a 1-year high of $238.93. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.36.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 18.50% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The company had revenue of $252.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. Onto Innovation's revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Onto Innovation will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 1,275 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.24, for a total transaction of $264,231.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,326,202. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 2.5% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 12,100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,191,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation during the 1st quarter worth $654,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Onto Innovation in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 102,103 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $18,586,000 after buying an additional 15,451 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 135.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 8,219 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 4,732 shares during the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements.