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

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $246.67.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated 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 price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Nova Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $273.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 50.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44. Nova has a 12-month low of $154.54 and a 12-month high of $289.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $224.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.21.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Nova in the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Nova by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 29,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,735,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,232,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 167,090 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,908,000 after buying an additional 44,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter worth approximately $320,000. 82.99% of the stock is 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.