Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Price Target Cut by Jefferies Financial Group

Key Points

• Jefferies cut Nova’s price target to $460 from $600 but maintained a Buy rating; the new target implies 46.9% upside from the prior close.
• Nova’s latest quarter beat expectations, with revenue up 28.2% year over year to $287.8 million and EPS of $2.86 versus $2.77 consensus. Its Q4 EPS guidance of $3.03–$3.18 was also above analyst expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $456.11, with seven Buy and four Hold ratings.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $600.00 to $460.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price target would indicate a potential upside of 46.88% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on NVMI. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Nova from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $456.11.

Nova Stock Up 11.7%

NVMI stock traded up $32.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $313.18. 463,560 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,020. The business has a 50-day moving average of $347.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $437.96. Nova has a 52 week low of $266.43 and a 52 week high of $615.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.85.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $287.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $282.23 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nova will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $200 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In other Nova news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of Nova stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total transaction of $1,403,713.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,777,461.52. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nova in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,675,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Nova by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Nova during the second quarter worth approximately $2,647,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Nova by 51.6% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,444 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,238 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Nova by 338.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 190,399 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $82,434,000 after purchasing an additional 146,959 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Nova this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 revenue reached a record $287.8 million, up 28.2% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $2.86 topped the roughly $2.77 consensus. Nova reports record third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Nova forecast Q4 revenue of $305 million–$315 million and EPS of $3.03–$3.18, with the EPS range just above analyst expectations. Management also pointed to strong memory and packaging demand and visibility into 2027 growth. Nova Q4 outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, one post-results report said the stock dropped, suggesting strong expectations may have limited the market’s initial response. Nova Q3 results and stock reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reduced its price target to $500 from $600, and Needham cut its target to $420 from $570. Both firms kept positive ratings—Overweight and Buy, respectively—but the lower targets could weigh on sentiment. Barclays rating

About Nova

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.