Short Interest in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Decreases By 14.1%

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) was the target of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, a drop of 14.1% from the January 31st total of 1,420,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 859,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ONTO shares. StockNews.com raised Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.88.

Onto Innovation Trading Down 2.1 %

Onto Innovation stock traded down $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.39. The stock had a trading volume of 405,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,018,959. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.53. Onto Innovation has a 12 month low of $127.54 and a 12 month high of $238.93. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.37, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 14.24% and a net margin of 20.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Onto Innovation will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total value of $169,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ONTO. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Onto Innovation by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 46,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,700,000 after purchasing an additional 7,800 shares during the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Palisades Investment Partners LLC now owns 20,412 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 150,084 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,015,000 after purchasing an additional 15,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter worth about $3,104,000. 98.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Onto Innovation

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.