Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $250.00. The stock had previously closed at $210.59, but opened at $197.75. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Onto Innovation shares last traded at $186.58, with a volume of 507,969 shares changing hands.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ONTO. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $275.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Onto Innovation in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Onto Innovation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $251.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Onto Innovation

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 38.1% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,072,796 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $222,670,000 after purchasing an additional 295,869 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $66,236,000 after purchasing an additional 284,115 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter worth $43,893,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter worth $41,946,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 12.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,008,399 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $416,863,000 after purchasing an additional 228,800 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.26 and a 200 day moving average of $189.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.92, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 20.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

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.