Novanta Inc. $NOVT Stock Position Raised by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ:NOVT) by 125.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,221 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,133 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Novanta worth $20,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOVT. Summit Creek Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Novanta by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC now owns 73,673 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,766,000 after buying an additional 23,712 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings 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. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Novanta by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 207,053 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $24,637,000 after buying an additional 14,969 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Novanta by 337.2% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,963 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 7,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Novanta by 484.8% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 48,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,752,000 after acquiring an additional 40,071 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOVT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price target on shares of Novanta in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Novanta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Novanta in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Matthijs Glastra sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.13, for a total transaction of $1,047,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 29,761 shares in the company, valued at $4,795,389.93. The trade was a 17.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Novanta Price Performance

NASDAQ NOVT opened at $145.85 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.69 and a beta of 1.67. Novanta Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.27 and a 52-week high of $171.85.

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

Novanta 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.