Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,510,000 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the February 13th total of 1,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 933,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total transaction of $7,671,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,492 shares in the company, valued at $32,986,341.48. This represents a 18.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $169,535.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its stake in Onto Innovation by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 8,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 26.3% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 423 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:ONTO opened at $137.45 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $174.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.46. Onto Innovation has a 52-week low of $121.47 and a 52-week high of $238.93. The firm has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.24%. Sell-side analysts expect that Onto Innovation will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Onto Innovation Company Profile

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.