Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) shares gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $250.00. The stock had previously closed at $210.59, but opened at $197.75. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Onto Innovation shares last traded at $186.58, with a volume of 507,969 shares.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,120,715. The trade was a 5.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Onto Innovation during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Onto Innovation by 675.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Onto Innovation by 209.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Onto Innovation by 532.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Onto Innovation during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Onto Innovation Trading Down 10.8 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.38. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.31.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 19.44% and a return on equity of 13.38%. On average, analysts predict that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.22 earnings per share 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.