Insider Selling: Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Director Sells $800,656.00 in Stock

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Director Raanan Cohen sold 2,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.00, for a total transaction of $800,656.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,171,970. The trade was a 40.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nova Stock Performance

NVMI traded down $12.98 on Thursday, reaching $327.64. The company had a trading volume of 274,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,500. The company has a quick ratio of 5.39, a current ratio of 6.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $266.43 and a 1 year high of $615.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $345.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $435.34.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.09. Nova had a return on equity of 22.13% and a net margin of 29.87%. The company had revenue of $287.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of Nova by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,250,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $479,429,000 after purchasing an additional 44,430 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nova during the third quarter worth about $3,798,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nova during the third quarter worth about $868,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Nova by 4.5% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 4,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,609,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Nova by 5.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,696 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,816,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NVMI has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Nova from $570.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Citigroup lowered Nova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $415.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nova currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.00.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. develops metrology and process-control solutions used in semiconductor manufacturing. Its systems measure the dimensions and material properties of structures on silicon wafers, helping chipmakers monitor and control production processes as devices become smaller and more complex. The company’s offerings include optical and X-ray measurement systems, alongside software that analyzes process data. These tools are used in wafer-fabrication facilities and research and development environments.