60,244 Shares in Nova Ltd. $NVMI Acquired by Bamco Inc. NY

Key Points

• Bamco Inc. NY acquired 60,244 Nova shares worth approximately $32.7 million, while institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of the semiconductor metrology company.
• Nova reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, beating estimates of $2.41, and revenue of $254.96 million, up 15.9% year over year. Shares opened at $366.35, well below their 52-week high of $615.99.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Nova carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $514.44, although insiders sold 5,442 shares worth about $2.9 million over the past 90 days.

Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,244 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $32,709,000. Bamco Inc. NY owned 0.19% of Nova as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Nova in the 2nd quarter valued at $391,367,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Nova by 47.5% during 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth $308,300,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Nova by 185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $194,144,000 after purchasing an additional 394,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in Nova by 286.3% in the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 508,641 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $167,115,000 after purchasing an additional 376,974 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $366.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.78. Nova Ltd. has a 52-week low of $232.73 and a 52-week high of $615.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $443.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $469.65.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,046,750.52. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 9.36% 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. Insiders sold a total of 5,442 shares of company stock worth $2,905,622 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NVMI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised Nova from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Nova 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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