Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,345 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 2,345 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Nova were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Nova by 253.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,327 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,360,000 after buying an additional 25,345 shares during the period. SkyOak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Nova by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in Nova by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,015,000 after buying an additional 97,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nova by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,169,625 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $230,358,000 after buying an additional 11,915 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ NVMI traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $199.37. The company had a trading volume of 25,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,556. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.66. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $154.00 and a one year high of $289.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $197.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.84.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The company had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NVMI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark boosted their target price on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.60.

Nova Profile

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.