Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Trading Down 8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) traded down 8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $557.89 and last traded at $557.3320. Approximately 247,116 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 399,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVMI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nova from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nova presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.22.

Nova Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $515.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $446.61.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. Nova had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 29.21%.The business had revenue of $235.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In related news, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,253,812.13. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,530.62. This represents a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 2,411 shares of company stock worth $1,243,018 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Nova in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Nova by 75.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Nova by 2,042.9% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Nova during the fourth quarter worth about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Company 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.