Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $250.83.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVMI shares. Benchmark upped their target price on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Nova Stock Up 5.3 %

NVMI stock opened at $170.61 on Thursday. Nova has a 52 week low of $154.00 and a 52 week high of $289.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.70. The company has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The firm had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Nova will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nova

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Nova by 438.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Nova in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nova by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.