BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Nova Ltd. by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 78,199 shares valued at about $25.7 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted or initiated positions, including Invesco, Phoenix Financial, and Norges Bank, while hedge funds and institutions now own 82.99% of Nova’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: nine rate the stock a Buy, with a consensus Moderate Buy and average price target of $518.22, even as insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 77.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,199 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,237 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.27% of Nova worth $25,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nova by 185.4% in 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. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nova by 286.3% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 508,641 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $167,115,000 after purchasing an additional 376,974 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter worth about $109,568,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,915,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nova in the 3rd quarter worth about $79,398,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Nova from $500.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price objective on Nova in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nova has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $518.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In other Nova news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total transaction of $781,297.92. Following the completion of 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 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, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 426 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the sale, the director owned 2,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,253,812.13. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 2,411 shares of company stock worth $1,243,018 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $520.40 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $215.26 and a one year high of $565.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $497.87 and a 200 day moving average of $430.91. The company has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.89, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.75.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $235.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.02 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 29.21%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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