Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Short Interest Up 22.9% in March

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,642,316 shares, an increase of 22.9% from the February 26th total of 1,336,001 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 376,951 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVMI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $465.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $453.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $442.25.

Nova Stock Performance

NVMI stock traded up $21.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $434.28. 693,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 371,694. Nova has a 1-year low of $153.99 and a 1-year high of $507.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 54.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $449.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.25. The company has a current ratio of 6.28, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $222.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.43 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.90% and a net margin of 29.44%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 660.4% in the first 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 period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 0.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,860 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,841,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Nova by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,663 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Nova by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,662 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.