Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 32,875 Shares of Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 597,019 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 32,875 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Nova were worth $190,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nova by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nova by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Nova by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in Nova during the third quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, Rexford Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Nova during the second quarter worth about $138,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $453.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $442.25.

Nova Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of Nova stock opened at $420.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 6.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.83. Nova Ltd. has a 52-week low of $153.99 and a 52-week high of $507.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $354.79.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $222.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.43 million. Nova had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 22.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. Nova has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.250 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova Profile

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.