Onto Innovation Stock Is Believed To Be Significantly Overvalued

– By GF Value

The stock of Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO, 30-year Financials) appears to be significantly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus’ estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $65.57 per share and the market cap of $3.2 billion, Onto Innovation stock gives every indication of being significantly overvalued. GF Value for Onto Innovation is shown in the chart below.

Warning! GuruFocus has detected 8 Warning Signs with ONTO. Click here to check it out.

ONTO 15-Year Financial Data

The intrinsic value of ONTO

Peter Lynch Chart of ONTO

Because Onto Innovation is significantly overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be much lower than its future business growth, which averaged 4.5% over the past five years.

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Since investing in companies with low financial strength could result in permanent capital loss, investors must carefully review a company’s financial strength before deciding whether to buy shares. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage can give a good initial perspective on the company’s financial strength. Onto Innovation has a cash-to-debt ratio of 17.86, which ranks better than 79% of the companies in Semiconductors industry. Based on this, GuruFocus ranks Onto Innovation’s financial strength as 7 out of 10, suggesting fair balance sheet. This is the debt and cash of Onto Innovation over the past years:

Investing in profitable companies carries less risk, especially in companies that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. Typically, a company with high profit margins offers better performance potential than a company with low profit margins. Onto Innovation has been profitable 9 years over the past 10 years. During the past 12 months, the company had revenues of $556.5 million and earnings of $0.62 a share. Its operating margin of 4.79% in the middle range of the companies in Semiconductors industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks Onto Innovation’s profitability as fair. This is the revenue and net income of Onto Innovation over the past years:

Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term stock performance of a company. A faster growing company creates more value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth of Onto Innovation is 4.5%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Semiconductors industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -1.9%, which ranks worse than 68% of the companies in Semiconductors industry.

Another way to evaluate a company’s profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Onto Innovation’s ROIC was 2.97, while its WACC came in at 8.53. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Onto Innovation is shown below:

In summary, the stock of Onto Innovation (NYSE:ONTO, 30-year Financials) appears to be significantly overvalued. The company’s financial condition is fair and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks worse than 68% of the companies in Semiconductors industry. To learn more about Onto Innovation stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here.

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.