Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Trading Up 7% – What’s Next?

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)’s stock price was up 7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $194.25 and last traded at $192.59. Approximately 66,568 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 450,255 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.29.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a PE ratio of 53.18, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $171.80 and its 200 day moving average is $193.18.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. Onto Innovation had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 19.44%. The company had revenue of $252.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Onto Innovation Inc. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ONTO. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Onto Innovation by 45.7% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 105,267 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,112,000 after buying an additional 33,025 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Onto Innovation by 287.0% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,458 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 834,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $173,401,000 after acquiring an additional 13,405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,539,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Onto Innovation by 12.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,008,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $416,863,000 after acquiring an additional 228,800 shares in the last quarter. 98.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.