Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Price Target Raised to $295.00 at Benchmark

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price target hoisted by Benchmark from $245.00 to $295.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.67.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ NVMI remained flat at $269.00 during trading hours on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,781. Nova has a 52 week low of $154.54 and a 52 week high of $289.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $221.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 50.39, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a return on equity of 21.35% and a net margin of 28.00%. As a group, analysts expect that Nova will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Nova by 438.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Nova by 89.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Nova by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.