Marshall Wace LLP Reduces Holdings in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Marshall Wace LLP cut its stake in Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) by 53.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 235,013 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 270,912 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.48% of Onto Innovation worth $39,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 209.4% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 532.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.13.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

ONTO opened at $114.92 on Friday. Onto Innovation Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.21 and a 12 month high of $238.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.95.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last released 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 14.24% and a net margin of 20.43%. Research analysts anticipate that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of Onto Innovation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total transaction of $7,671,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. The trade was a 18.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.