Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Friday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $245.00 to $175.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Onto Innovation traded as low as $120.68 and last traded at $122.08, with a volume of 249288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.42.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ONTO. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price 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 research report on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Onto Innovation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.88.

Insider Transactions at Onto Innovation

In other Onto Innovation news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total value of $7,671,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. This represents a 18.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position 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 valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 7.8% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 8,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 2,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $166.46 and its 200 day moving average is $179.24.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 EPS for the current fiscal 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.