Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Has Average Price Target of $499.44

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Seven of 11 analysts rate Nova a “buy” and four rate it a “hold,” with an average 12-month price target of $499.44.
• Nova’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $2.51 versus a $2.41 consensus estimate and revenue up 15.9% year over year to $254.96 million.
• The company authorized a $200 million share buyback, while institutional investors own 82.99% of outstanding shares; Nova’s stock recently traded at $339.69, well below its 12-month high of $615.99.

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $499.44.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Evercore set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total value of $1,403,713.92. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 that occurred on 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 owned 27,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,314,535.78. This trade represents a 5.22% 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. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Nova by 47.5% in the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,166,073 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $940,683,000 after acquiring an additional 697,210 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Nova during the second quarter worth about $391,367,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Nova in the 2nd quarter worth about $308,300,000. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its stake in Nova by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 572,189 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $247,326,000 after purchasing an additional 20,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Nova by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 377,579 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $161,888,000 after purchasing an additional 50,154 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NVMI stock traded down $0.71 on Tuesday, reaching $339.69. The stock had a trading volume of 139,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,584. Nova has a 12 month low of $266.43 and a 12 month high of $615.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's 50-day moving average is $373.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.44.

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

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to buy back $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Nova

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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