Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $442.25.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NVMI shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Nova in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $465.00 price target for the company.

Nova Trading Down 4.4%

NVMI stock traded down $20.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $433.54. 71,954 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 404,134. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $450.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.12, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.83. Nova has a 12-month low of $153.99 and a 12-month high of $507.27. The company has a quick ratio of 5.47, a current ratio of 6.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a return on equity of 22.90% and a net margin of 29.44%.The firm had revenue of $222.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Nova’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nova in the third quarter valued at $10,153,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Nova by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 147,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $40,635,000 after purchasing an additional 12,957 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Nova by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 286,076 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $91,447,000 after purchasing an additional 7,438 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,662 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth about $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

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.