Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) Stock Price

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $194.00 to $175.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the technology company’s stock. Robert W. Baird‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 41.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Novanta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Novanta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Novanta currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.00.

Novanta Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NOVT stock opened at $123.31 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.40 and a 200-day moving average of $142.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.79, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Novanta has a 12-month low of $98.27 and a 12-month high of $176.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.13 and a beta of 1.71.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The technology company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.08. Novanta had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $305.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Novanta’s revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Novanta will post 3.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Novanta

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Novanta by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,480,049 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $210,448,000 after purchasing an additional 43,264 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Novanta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $270,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Novanta by 167.7% in the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 18,420 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after buying an additional 11,540 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Novanta by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 32,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,567,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Novanta by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 196,975 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,008,000 after buying an additional 3,975 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Novanta Company Profile

Novanta develops and manufactures precision technologies used in medical and advanced industrial applications. Its products include photonics and laser components, precision motion-control systems, machine-vision technologies, and related equipment and software. The company’s technologies are used in areas such as medical and surgical systems, life sciences, robotics, and industrial automation. Novanta serves customers internationally, with operations and customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.