Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $164.34, but opened at $151.33. Novanta shares last traded at $164.8150, with a volume of 89,925 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOVT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price target on Novanta in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.00.

Novanta Trading Down 3.8%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.02 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $257.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $253.40 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.35%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.810-0.860 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.43, for a total transaction of $1,128,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,761 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,432,537.23. The trade was a 14.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total value of $1,162,678.89. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 96,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,281,850.32. This trade represents a 9.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,957 shares of company stock valued at $3,136,229. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 978.4% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 399 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Novanta during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Novanta during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 1,291.4% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 487 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Novanta

Novanta, Inc (NASDAQ: NOVT) is a global technology company that designs and manufactures precision components, subsystems and software used in advanced photonics and motion control applications. The company serves customers in the medical device and advanced industrial markets, supplying critical technologies for diagnostics and therapeutic systems, semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, and scientific instrumentation. Novanta’s product portfolio includes laser control modules, optics, beam delivery systems, high-precision motors, actuators, stages, and fluidics solutions designed to meet stringent accuracy and reliability requirements.

Novanta’s Photonics segment delivers laser and energy delivery components that enable minimally invasive surgical procedures and diagnostic imaging.