Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $145.15 and last traded at $145.43, with a volume of 1439755 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $154.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ONTO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Onto Innovation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.88.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $184.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.75.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total transaction of $4,003,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 215,492 shares in the company, valued at $43,139,343.48. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ONTO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter valued at about $87,987,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,515,152 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $252,530,000 after buying an additional 444,860 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 72.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 870,250 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $145,045,000 after buying an additional 364,853 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,406,034 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $234,344,000 after buying an additional 356,161 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 811.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 319,116 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $66,236,000 after buying an additional 284,115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Onto Innovation Company Profile

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.