BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 34,237 Shares of Nova Ltd. $NVMI

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,199 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,237 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Nova were worth $25,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Nova by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $605,701,000 after acquiring an additional 102,250 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Nova by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $490,502,000 after acquiring an additional 98,000 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Nova by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,468,863 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $482,360,000 after acquiring an additional 40,256 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nova by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,128,957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $377,402,000 after acquiring an additional 15,195 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Nova by 185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $194,144,000 after acquiring an additional 394,544 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price objective on Nova in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nova from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Nova from $500.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.22.

Nova Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $520.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $497.87 and its 200 day moving average is $430.91. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $215.26 and a 12 month high of $565.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 64.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.75.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. Nova had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 29.21%.The company had revenue of $235.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,048,530.62. The trade was a 17.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,253,812.13. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders have sold 2,411 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,018. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Nova

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies advanced metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company’s core product line includes spectroscopic ellipsometry and scatterometry tools designed to measure film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay alignment and other key parameters that drive yield and performance in integrated circuit fabrication.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Nova Measuring Instruments has established itself as a critical partner to leading semiconductor foundries and device manufacturers.