Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.25.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

ONTO traded down $7.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $176.15. 938,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 961,974. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.99. Onto Innovation has a 12 month low of $145.15 and a 12 month high of $238.93. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

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 return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 20.43%. Sell-side analysts expect that Onto Innovation will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Onto Innovation news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.19, for a total transaction of $4,003,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 215,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,139,343.48. This trade represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of Onto Innovation 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,120,715. This represents a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,827 shares of company stock valued at $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Onto Innovation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mather Group LLC. increased 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.