Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $224.50, but opened at $216.86. Onto Innovation shares last traded at $216.33, with a volume of 69,151 shares changing hands.

Specifically, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 150,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,986,341.48. This trade represents a 18.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.24, for a total value of $6,337,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 185,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,183,330.08. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.75.

Onto Innovation Stock Down 1.7 %

The company has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day moving average of $178.03 and a 200 day moving average of $191.98.

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

Institutional Trading of Onto Innovation

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ONTO. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 232.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 113 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 675.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 532.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Onto Innovation during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation during the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. 98.35% of the stock is currently 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.