Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from Sell to Hold. Across analysts, the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average $470 price target, although several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Nova’s third-quarter revenue rose 28.2% year over year to $287.8 million, and EPS of $2.86 topped the $2.77 consensus. Its fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.03–$3.18 was also above analyst expectations.
• The board authorized a $200 million share repurchase plan, allowing Nova to buy back up to 1.9% of its shares.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Nova from $600.00 to $460.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays decreased their target price on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Nova from $570.00 to $420.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 price target on Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.00.

Nova Stock Up 11.7%

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $313.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $346.38 and a 200-day moving average of $437.27. Nova has a 52 week low of $266.43 and a 52 week high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $287.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $282.23 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm's revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Nova will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $200 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Nova

In other Nova news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total value of $513,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,314,535.78. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 company'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 sale, the insider owned 21,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,777,461.52. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nova

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the second quarter worth about $391,367,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Nova by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,166,073 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $940,683,000 after purchasing an additional 697,210 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the second quarter worth about $308,300,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Nova during the second quarter worth $82,530,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Nova by 338.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 190,399 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $82,434,000 after buying an additional 146,959 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Nova

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

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.

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.