Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the February 28th total of 1,510,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 964,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Onto Innovation Stock Performance

Shares of ONTO stock opened at $121.99 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.70. Onto Innovation has a one year low of $116.27 and a one year high of $238.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29.

Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.10. Onto Innovation had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 14.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Onto Innovation will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Srinivas Vedula sold 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.00, for a total transaction of $169,535.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,120,715. This trade represents a 5.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Plisinski sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.19, for a total value of $7,671,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,986,341.48. The trade was a 18.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 85,827 shares of company stock worth $18,182,185. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Onto Innovation

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Onto Innovation by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its holdings in Onto Innovation by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 1,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Onto Innovation by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 8,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Onto Innovation by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Onto Innovation by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 2,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ONTO shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Onto Innovation in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Onto Innovation in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 target price on Onto Innovation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Onto Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Onto Innovation from $245.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Onto Innovation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.88.

Onto Innovation Company Profile

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.