Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 target price on Nova in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nova currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Nova Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $377.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $376.34 and a 200-day moving average of $453.07. Nova has a 12 month low of $266.43 and a 12 month high of $615.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 46.75, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.79.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.33 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Nova will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In other news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total value of $513,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,314,535.78. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total value of $1,403,713.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,777,461.52. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nova during the second quarter valued at about $276,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nova by 4.9% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Nova by 688.9% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 71 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nova by 175.0% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Nova by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 65,163 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,380,000 after buying an additional 10,690 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) is an Israel-based provider of process control and metrology solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chipmakers measure and control critical wafer characteristics during production, supporting improvements in process performance, yield and device quality.

Its product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems used to measure dimensions, film thickness, material composition and other parameters across semiconductor manufacturing processes.