Since January 2026, Novanta has been in a holding pattern, posting a small return of 3.3% while floating around $142.
Is now the time to buy Novanta, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? See what our analysts have to say in our full research report, it’s free.
Why Is Novanta Not Exciting?
We’re cautious about Novanta. Here are three reasons we avoid NOVT, plus one stock we’d rather own.
1. Lackluster Revenue Growth
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a stretched historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Novanta’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed significantly as its annualized revenue growth of 6.1% over the last two years was well below its five-year trend. 
2. Projected Revenue Growth Is Slim
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Novanta’s revenue to rise by 6.5%, close to its 10.9% annualized growth for the past five years. This projection doesn’t excite us and indicates its newer products and services will not lead to better top-line performance yet.
3. Recent EPS Growth Below Our Standards
While long-term earnings trends give us the big picture, we also track EPS over a shorter period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.
Novanta’s unimpressive 5.3% annual EPS growth over the last two years aligns with its revenue trend. This tells us it maintained its per-share profitability as it expanded.
Final Judgment
Novanta isn’t a terrible business, but it doesn’t pass our bar. That said, the stock currently trades at 38.6× forward P/E (or $142 per share). Investors with a higher risk tolerance might like the company, but we don’t really see a big opportunity at the moment. We’re fairly confident there are better stocks to buy right now. We’d suggest looking at the most entrenched endpoint security platform on the market.
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