Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Price Target Cut to $550.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $595.00 to $550.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 41.20% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nova presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.44.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of Nova stock traded down $3.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $389.51. The stock had a trading volume of 67,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,808. The firm has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.37, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $480.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.91. Nova has a fifty-two week low of $232.73 and a fifty-two week high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.33 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Nova has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nova will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of Nova stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total value of $1,486,855.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,394,328.20. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the sale, the director owned 1,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,046,750.52. This represents a 18.88% 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. Insiders sold a total of 7,798 shares of company stock valued at $4,125,266 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Nova by 660.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nova by 51.6% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the second quarter worth $5,445,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 62.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Nova during the second quarter valued at $1,886,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Company Profile

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.