Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ONTO. Freedom Broker reduced their price objective on Onto Innovation from $410.00 to $325.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. B. Riley Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $340.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Onto Innovation from $360.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 10th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Onto Innovation from $360.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Onto Innovation in a research report on Monday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $352.08.

Onto Innovation Price Performance

ONTO traded down $6.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $203.54. 806,947 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,211,282. The company has a current ratio of 6.78, a quick ratio of 8.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 66.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.13. Onto Innovation has a 1 year low of $121.57 and a 1 year high of $386.46.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The semiconductor company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $409.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.06 million. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 11.53% and a return on equity of 17.18%. The business’s revenue was up 87.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Onto Innovation will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Onto Innovation

In other news, Director Susan Lynch sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.30, for a total value of $302,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,684 shares in the company, valued at approximately $811,373.20. This represents a 27.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director David Miller sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,692 shares in the company, valued at $3,207,600. This represents a 15.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ONTO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation in the 2nd quarter worth $2,083,436,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Onto Innovation during the second quarter valued at $416,839,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation in the second quarter valued at about $251,812,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Onto Innovation in the second quarter valued at about $162,052,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 4.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 677,502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $138,898,000 after acquiring an additional 28,137 shares during the period. 98.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Onto Innovation News

These are some of the ONTO news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 operating cash flow reached $79 million, while reported gross-margin expansion and operational efficiencies support the profitability outlook. Article: Onto Innovation’s Q3 Cash Flow Hits $79M
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC lowered its price target to $350 from $400 but maintained an Outperform rating, reflecting a more cautious valuation view without changing its positive rating. Article: RBC Cuts Price Target, Keeps Outperform Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports flag ONTO’s premium valuation, customer-concentration exposure and weaker capital-return profile as risks that could limit upside even as earnings and demand grow. A separate report describes a pessimistic Morgan Stanley outlook, while analyst target cuts—including from Jefferies—add to pressure on sentiment. Article: ONTO Falls as Growth Strength Collides With Valuation

About Onto Innovation

Onto Innovation develops process-control and inspection solutions used in semiconductor manufacturing. Its products include metrology and inspection systems, lithography equipment, and software that help manufacturers monitor production processes and identify defects. The company serves producers of semiconductor devices, advanced packaging, and specialty components. Its technologies support applications ranging from traditional wafer fabrication to newer packaging methods used in complex chips.