Nicholas Company Inc. Acquires 3,890 Shares of Novanta Inc. $NOVT

Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,239 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,890 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Company Inc.’s holdings in Novanta were worth $5,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marco Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Novanta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Novanta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $305,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 173.8% during the 4th quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 4,313 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,815 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Novanta by 124.0% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Novanta Price Performance

NOVT opened at $138.31 on Monday. Novanta Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.27 and a fifty-two week high of $149.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.80 and a current ratio of 3.69. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.73 and a beta of 1.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.83 and a 200-day moving average of $125.05.

Novanta (NASDAQ:NOVT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The technology company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Novanta had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 5.49%.The company had revenue of $258.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Novanta has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.650 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.750-0.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Novanta Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert Buckley sold 9,957 shares of Novanta stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.77, for a total transaction of $1,162,678.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 96,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,281,850.32. This trade represents a 9.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.05, for a total value of $845,325.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,381,768.05. This trade represents a 10.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,380 shares of company stock valued at $3,296,276 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOVT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Novanta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Novanta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $144.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Novanta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.00.

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.