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

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $246.67.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday. Benchmark increased their price objective on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup upgraded Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company.

Nova Price Performance

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $267.97 on Wednesday. Nova has a one year low of $154.54 and a one year high of $289.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $223.02 and its 200-day moving average is $207.65.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 28.00% and a return on equity of 21.35%. The company had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.50 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Nova will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 438.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised 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 valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nova

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.