Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the January 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 859,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Activity at Onto Innovation

In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.24, for a total value of $6,337,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,183,330.08. This represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 46,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,700,000 after acquiring an additional 7,800 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,412 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 150,084 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,015,000 after buying an additional 15,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,104,000. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ONTO shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Onto Innovation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Onto Innovation from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $246.88.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

Shares of ONTO traded down $1.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $132.88. 1,311,111 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,041,302. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. Onto Innovation has a twelve month low of $127.54 and a twelve month high of $238.93. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $181.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.97.

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