NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 12:47 ET — Market closed
- Novanta shares slid 6.7% on Friday, ending the first session of 2026 at $111.14.
- The move came in a choppy, low-liquidity market session as investors refocused on rates and macro data.
- Next catalysts include Monday’s ISM factory survey, Novanta’s Jan. 14 conference appearance, and late-February earnings expectations.
Novanta Inc shares fell 6.7% on Friday and closed at $111.14, swinging between $119.96 and $110.46 in the year’s first U.S. trading session. Volume was about 663,000 shares.
The selloff left Novanta lagging a broader market that finished mixed to slightly higher, with the Dow and S&P 500 edging up while the Nasdaq ended little changed. The early-2026 tape has traders watching whether rate-sensitive stocks can hold gains after a strong 2025. 1
Why it matters now: the start-of-year reset is colliding with a fresh round of U.S. data and a renewed debate over how quickly the Federal Reserve will ease policy. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson said the next rate cut “could take a while,” underscoring the risk that borrowing costs stay higher for longer. 2
Novanta sells components and sub-systems used by medical, life science and advanced industrial original equipment manufacturers, markets where order trends can turn quickly when customers adjust spending. The company is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, and trades on Nasdaq under the symbol NOVT. 3
There was no obvious company-specific announcement tied to Friday’s drop, and the move landed on a session that markets described as thin and headline-driven. “Today is kind of a holiday trading day, lighter volumes, people not engaged normally,” said Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital, in a Reuters interview. 4
Technically, traders will focus on whether the stock can stabilize after breaking sharply below its year-end level; Novanta finished 2025 at $118.99, according to the company’s investor website. A rebound would need to reclaim the $119–$120 area, which acted as Friday’s peak and may now draw selling — a common “resistance” zone where sellers tend to reappear. 5
The next scheduled company moment is Jan. 14, when Chief Executive Matthijs Glastra and Chief Financial Officer Robert Buckley are set to present at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, the company said. 6
Novanta last reported results on Nov. 3, when it posted third-quarter revenue of $247.8 million and adjusted earnings of $0.87 per share. Nasdaq’s earnings calendar currently estimates the next report around Feb. 24, though companies often confirm dates closer to the release. 7
But the next push in NOVT may hinge more on the macro tape than on company headlines: the ISM manufacturing PMI, a survey-based gauge of factory activity, is due Monday at 10:00 a.m. ET and can move Treasury yields and cyclicals when it surprises expectations. 8
