Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $115.70 and last traded at $116.91, with a volume of 43552 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $125.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price target on Onto Innovation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.88.

Onto Innovation Stock Down 9.9 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $158.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.30. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total transaction of $4,003,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 215,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,139,343.48. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $169,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Onto Innovation by 177.6% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 46,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,700,000 after purchasing an additional 7,800 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC grew its stake in Onto Innovation by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Onto Innovation by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,412 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,402,000 after buying an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Onto Innovation by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 150,084 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,015,000 after buying an additional 15,961 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that performs optical metrology. The company offers lithography systems and process control analytical software. It also offers process and yield management solutions, and device packaging and test facilities through standalone systems for optical metrology, macro-defect inspection, packaging lithography, and transparent and opaque thin film measurements.