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

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $250.83.

A number of analysts have issued reports on NVMI shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Nova Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NVMI opened at $219.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.46. Nova has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $289.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $240.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.27.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.50 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. Equities research analysts forecast that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Nova in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Nova by 5.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.