Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI – Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $514.44.
NVMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th.
View Our Latest Analysis on Nova
Nova Trading Up 0.3%
Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.33 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Nova will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Nova announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total transaction of $1,486,855.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,394,328.20. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total value of $1,403,713.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,777,461.52. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,330 shares of company stock valued at $3,403,975. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Nova by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 145,427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,642,000 after acquiring an additional 23,280 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Nova by 51.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the fourth quarter worth $14,056,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Nova by 94.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 27,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth $15,675,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Nova Company Profile
Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) is an Israel-based provider of metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chip manufacturers measure and control critical process parameters during wafer fabrication, supporting the production of increasingly small and complex semiconductor devices.
Nova’s product portfolio includes optical and x-ray metrology systems, dimensional and materials measurement solutions, chemical metrology tools, and integrated metrology systems that can be incorporated into semiconductor production equipment.
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