Wasatch Advisors LP Trims Position in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)

Wasatch Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 996,832 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,479 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 2.78% of Novanta worth $152,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Novanta by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,412 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 430 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Novanta by 4.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,619 shares of the technology company's stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Novanta in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company's stock.

Novanta Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NOVT traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.58. The company had a trading volume of 293,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,921. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.61 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50 day moving average price is $131.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.76 and a 52-week high of $187.12.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The technology company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $238.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $240.29 million. Novanta had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Novanta from $169.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

About Novanta

Novanta, Inc engages in the provision of core technology solutions to healthcare and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers. It operates through the following segments: Photonics, Vision, and Precision Motion. The Photonics segment designs, manufactures, and markets photonics-based solutions, including laser scanning and laser beam delivery, CO2 laser, continuous wave and ultrafast laser, and optical light engine products.