Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Nova from “hold” to “sell,” while other analysts recently lowered ratings or price targets. Despite this, the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with seven Buy ratings, four Holds, and a consensus target of $499.44.
• Nova’s shares opened at $321.20, well below their 52-week high of $615.99, with a market capitalization of approximately $10.21 billion. The company trades at a P/E ratio of 38.85 and remains below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Nova reported quarterly EPS of $2.51 and revenue of $254.96 million, beating analyst estimates, while revenue increased 15.9% year over year. Its board also authorized a $200 million stock buyback, equivalent to up to 1.9% of outstanding shares.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup cut Nova from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $550.00 to $415.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.44.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI opened at $321.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.79. Nova has a one year low of $266.43 and a one year high of $615.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $368.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $446.93.

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

Nova declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to buy back $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,777,461.52. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total transaction of $513,405.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nova during the second quarter valued at about $15,675,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 94.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 27,115 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,077,000 after acquiring an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,647,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,577,000 after acquiring an additional 4,238 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is 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.

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