Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $161.04, but opened at $165.29. Onto Innovation shares last traded at $167.00, with a volume of 112,566 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ONTO. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Onto Innovation from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Onto Innovation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.29.

Onto Innovation Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $191.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $202.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.37.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The firm had revenue of $252.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Onto Innovation

In other news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 1,275 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 $3,326,202. The trade was a 7.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Onto Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 304.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 447,844 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $98,329,000 after acquiring an additional 337,250 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in Onto Innovation by 38.1% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,072,796 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $222,670,000 after purchasing an additional 295,869 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 811.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 1,296.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 217,190 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,079,000 after buying an additional 201,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 379.8% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 245,144 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $53,824,000 after buying an additional 194,056 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company's stock.

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.