Axiom Investors LLC DE Boosts Stake in Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its position in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 179.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,912 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,796 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Novanta were worth $5,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Novanta by 4.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,378,888 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $438,546,000 after acquiring an additional 193,366 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,458,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $173,518,000 after buying an additional 47,540 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 75.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,399,462 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $155,536,000 after buying an additional 604,055 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 10.6% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,100,029 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $141,827,000 after buying an additional 104,985 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Novanta by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 781,562 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $92,998,000 after buying an additional 28,451 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Novanta

In related news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.43, for a total value of $1,128,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,432,537.23. This represents a 14.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total value of $1,162,678.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 96,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 23,957 shares of company stock valued at $3,136,229 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOVT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price target on Novanta in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

Novanta Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ NOVT opened at $160.65 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $140.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.70. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.27 and a 52-week high of $171.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.41 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $257.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $253.40 million. Novanta had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.35%.Novanta’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. 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, analysts anticipate that Novanta Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.