Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Takes $6.01 Million Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan purchased a new stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,074 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,013,000.

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

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $349.06 on Monday. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $232.73 and a one year high of $615.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $435.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $468.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.20, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.78.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nova

In related news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,394,328.20. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total value of $243,580.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,046,750.52. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.44.

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.