Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Short Interest Up 78.5% in May

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 1,954,433 shares, an increase of 78.5% from the May 14th total of 1,094,718 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,562,012 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Onto Innovation Stock Performance

ONTO traded up $14.01 on Monday, reaching $337.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,052,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,036. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.62. Onto Innovation has a fifty-two week low of $89.40 and a fifty-two week high of $348.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $270.56 and its 200 day moving average is $218.37.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.04. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 10.32% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The firm had revenue of $291.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Onto Innovation will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ONTO. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Onto Innovation by 71.2% during the 4th quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 178 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Onto Innovation by 188.5% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its position in Onto Innovation by 147.8% during the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 166 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Onto Innovation by 109.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Onto Innovation during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, April 17th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Onto Innovation in a research note on Sunday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $371.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Onto Innovation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Onto Innovation from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.60.

Onto Innovation Company Profile

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) is a global supplier of advanced process control and inspection systems for semiconductor and electronics manufacturers. The company’s solutions span metrology, inspection, defect review and lithography mask repair, helping customers optimize yield, reduce costs and improve device performance. By integrating high-resolution optical and e-beam tools with sophisticated software analytics, Onto Innovation enables wafer, mask and advanced packaging producers to maintain tight process control across leading-edge nodes and specialty applications.

Key products include high-throughput wafer metrology systems, optical and e-beam defect inspection platforms, mask inspection and repair tools, and data-driven software for yield management and process optimization.