Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $287.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $282.23 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.61% and a net margin of 29.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Nova updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 3.030-3.180 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Nova’s conference call:

• Nova reported a third consecutive record quarter, with Q3 revenue of $287.8 million, up 28% year over year and above guidance. Non-GAAP operating margin was 35.5%, above the company’s target range, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.86 exceeded the high end of guidance.
• Management forecast Q4 revenue of $305 million to $315 million and expects 2026 revenue to exceed $1 billion, a year ahead of its strategic-plan milestone. It also raised its outlook for second-half 2026 growth to more than 33% year over year and cited momentum carrying into 2027.
• Memory and advanced packaging were record contributors, supported by DRAM demand, capacity expansion, and broader adoption of Nova’s metrology products. Management also pointed to favorable 2027 drivers, including gate-all-around investment, advanced DRAM nodes, and HBM-related applications.
• Nova generated $132 million in Q3 free cash flow and ended the quarter with $1.8 billion in cash, equivalents, and marketable securities. It repurchased approximately $38.5 million of shares during the quarter.
• Management said the industry ramp is stretching the supply chain and requires active mitigation, though it is working with suppliers and expanding manufacturing capacity. It also expects new competition in XPS materials metrology to emerge around the second half of 2027.

Nova Trading Up 11.7%

NASDAQ NVMI traded up $32.88 on Friday, hitting $313.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 463,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 306,051. Nova has a 52-week low of $266.43 and a 52-week high of $615.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $346.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $437.27. The firm has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.85.

More Nova News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nova this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue reached a record $287.8 million, up 28.2% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $2.86 topped the roughly $2.77 consensus. Nova reports record third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Nova forecast Q4 revenue of $305 million–$315 million and EPS of $3.03–$3.18, with the EPS range just above analyst expectations. Management also pointed to strong memory and packaging demand and visibility into 2027 growth. Nova Q4 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, one post-results report said the stock dropped, suggesting strong expectations may have limited the market’s initial response. Nova Q3 results and stock reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reduced its price target to $500 from $600, and Needham cut its target to $420 from $570. Both firms kept positive ratings—Overweight and Buy, respectively—but the lower targets could weigh on sentiment. Barclays rating

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total transaction of $1,403,713.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,777,461.52. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total value of $513,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,314,535.78. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nova announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on Nova in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Nova from $600.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup downgraded Nova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.00.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Its systems help chipmakers measure and control critical dimensions, film thickness, material properties and other characteristics during the production of integrated circuits.

The company’s product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems, chemical metrology solutions, and related software and analytics tools. These technologies are used in multiple stages of semiconductor fabrication, including front-end wafer processing and advanced packaging, to support process development, yield improvement and manufacturing control.

Founded in 1993, Nova is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, and serves semiconductor manufacturers and other industry customers through operations and support activities across North America, Europe and Asia.