Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 674,453 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 13,171 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.32% of Nova worth $132,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,517,000 after purchasing an additional 101,470 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Nova by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $270,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the third quarter valued at about $19,659,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 121.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 145,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,230,000 after buying an additional 79,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of Nova by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 296,307 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,423,000 after buying an additional 67,734 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Price Performance

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $191.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $230.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.17. Nova Ltd. has a 1-year low of $158.00 and a 1-year high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The company had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.50 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nova currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.83.

Nova 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.