Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $514.4444.

Several analysts have weighed in on NVMI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th.

Nova Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:NVMI traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $346.19. 46,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,297. The company has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $394.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.05. Nova has a twelve month low of $266.43 and a twelve month high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The company had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nova will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Nova announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares in the company, valued at $14,394,328.20. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. The trade was a 16.73% 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. Insiders sold 6,942 shares of company stock worth $3,419,027 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nova by 20.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Nova by 688.9% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 71 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nova by 4.9% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) is an Israel-based provider of metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chip manufacturers measure and control critical process parameters during wafer fabrication, supporting the production of increasingly small and complex semiconductor devices.

Nova’s product portfolio includes optical and x-ray metrology systems, dimensional and materials measurement solutions, chemical metrology tools, and integrated metrology systems that can be incorporated into semiconductor production equipment.