Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 168,362 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its holdings in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,197 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 168,362 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.55% of Nova worth $31,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Nova by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 79.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,182 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI traded up $3.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $199.93. The stock had a trading volume of 49,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,199. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $199.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.73. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $154.00 and a one year high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.50 million. Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NVMI. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.60.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.