Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Gets Downgrade from Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Nova from “hold” to “sell,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with seven Buy and four Hold ratings and an average price target of $499.44.
• Nova shares opened at $311.35, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages and their 12-month high of $615.99, despite the company exceeding quarterly earnings and revenue estimates.
• The semiconductor metrology company authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program, while insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans; institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the stock.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on NVMI. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.44.

Nova Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $311.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.53, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $359.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $442.83. Nova has a 12 month low of $266.43 and a 12 month high of $615.99.

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

Nova announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nova news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of Nova stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total transaction of $513,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,314,535.78. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Nova by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,885 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,578,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co acquired a new stake in Nova during the 3rd quarter worth $367,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Nova by 214.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 154 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth $276,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Nova by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. NASDAQ: NVMI develops and supplies metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Its systems help chipmakers measure and control critical dimensions, film thickness, material properties and other characteristics during the production of integrated circuits.

The company's product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems, chemical metrology solutions, and related software and analytics tools. These technologies are used in multiple stages of semiconductor fabrication, including front-end wafer processing and advanced packaging, to support process development, yield improvement and manufacturing control.

Founded in 1993, Nova is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, and serves semiconductor manufacturers and other industry customers through operations and support activities across North America, Europe and Asia.

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