Cantor Fitzgerald Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Nova’s price target from $600 to $500 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 31.12% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall: Nova has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $541.11, with eight Buy and three Hold ratings.
• Nova exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.51 in EPS and $254.96 million in revenue, up 15.9% year over year; however, insiders sold approximately $4.1 million in shares during the last quarter.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $600.00 to $500.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's price target would suggest a potential upside of 31.12% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on NVMI. Citigroup raised their price target on Nova from $520.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.11.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI opened at $381.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $482.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.29. Nova has a fifty-two week low of $232.73 and a fifty-two week high of $615.99. The company has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.78.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a net margin of 29.21% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Nova has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.700-2.850 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Nova will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total value of $1,486,855.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,394,328.20. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total value of $781,297.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,668 shares in the company, valued at $3,463,892.64. The trade was a 18.40% 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. Insiders sold 7,798 shares of company stock worth $4,125,266 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Nova by 660.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,668 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nova by 51.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth about $5,445,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 62.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth about $1,886,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd NASDAQ: NVMI develops and supplies advanced metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company's core product line includes spectroscopic ellipsometry and scatterometry tools designed to measure film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay alignment and other key parameters that drive yield and performance in integrated circuit fabrication.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Nova Measuring Instruments has established itself as a critical partner to leading semiconductor foundries and device manufacturers.

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