31,761 Shares in Nova Ltd. $NVMI Acquired by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 31,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,153,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Nova by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $605,701,000 after buying an additional 102,250 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in Nova by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,549,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $428,980,000 after buying an additional 58,600 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Nova by 13.1% in the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,437,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $395,643,000 after acquiring an additional 166,672 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Nova by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,428,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $456,669,000 after purchasing an additional 86,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its position in Nova by 13.4% in the second quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 769,584 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,680,000 after acquiring an additional 90,830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NVMI. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nova from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $348.57.

Nova Trading Down 8.0%

Shares of Nova stock opened at $457.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 59.85, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.00. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $153.99 and a 1 year high of $507.27.

About Nova

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies advanced metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company’s core product line includes spectroscopic ellipsometry and scatterometry tools designed to measure film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay alignment and other key parameters that drive yield and performance in integrated circuit fabrication.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Nova Measuring Instruments has established itself as a critical partner to leading semiconductor foundries and device manufacturers.