10 Best Small-Cap Value Stocks to Buy According to Bares Capital

9. Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO)

Bares Capital Management’s Stake: $10 Million

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) first appeared in the 13F portfolio of Bares Capital in the third quarter of 2021. Back then, this position comprised 152,000 shares. The fund added to this stake and grew it to more than 220,000 shares by the end of the third quarter of 2022. Thereafter, it started trimming the position. By the second quarter of 2024, this holding had been reduced to just 40,000 shares and was sold off completely by the next quarter. A new position in the stock was then opened in the third quarter of 2025. This consisted of over 75,000 shares. Onto engages in the design, development, manufacture, and support of process control tools that perform macro-defect inspection and metrology in the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Asia, and Europe.

Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) is viewed by top investors as a hidden gatekeeper of the high-end AI chip market. While chipmakers like NVIDIA capture the headlines, smart money managers are focused on the specialized inspection tools required to build the complex packaging used in AI data centers. One example of this is the explosive demand for the new Dragonfly G5 inspection platform of Onto. The G5 is uniquely qualified for 2.5D advanced AI packaging, a critical step in manufacturing high-performance AI chips. Earlier this month, management raised their outlook, stating they expect Dragonfly platform demand to grow more than 50% in 2026 compared to 2025.