William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New $124.25 Million Investment in Novanta Inc. $NOVT

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 765,867 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $124,254,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 2.03% of Novanta as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novanta during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in Novanta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Novanta in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Novanta by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Novanta during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NOVT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 target price on shares of Novanta in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.00.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In other news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.13, for a total value of $1,047,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 29,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,795,389.93. This trade represents a 17.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Price Performance

NOVT opened at $145.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.14. Novanta Inc. has a 12-month low of $98.27 and a 12-month high of $176.38. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 3.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.10 and a beta of 1.68.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $265.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $262.30 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 6.00%.Novanta’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.680-3.740 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.950-1.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Novanta Company Profile

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.