Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Has $274.25 Million Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Key Points

• Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd has increased its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 7.8%, now holding approximately 1.49 million shares, worth around $274.25 million.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Nova Ltd., with benchmark ratings now ranging between $270.00 to $300.00, while maintaining a generally favorable outlook on the stock.
• Nova Ltd. recently reported earnings per share of $2.20, surpassing analyst estimates, with revenue growth of 40.2% year-over-year, reflecting strong performance in the semiconductor sector.

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,490,554 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 107,215 shares during the period. Nova accounts for approximately 2.8% of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd owned about 5.09% of Nova worth $274,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Nova by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $474,980,000 after acquiring an additional 796,629 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc increased its position in shares of Nova by 504.5% in the fourth quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 354,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $69,780,000 after acquiring an additional 295,691 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Nova by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 600,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $118,341,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the first quarter valued at about $22,647,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,859,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Nova in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Nova from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Benchmark lowered their price target on Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.50.

Nova Trading Down 6.1%

NVMI stock traded down $16.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $254.35. 273,587 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,894. Nova Ltd. has a twelve month low of $153.99 and a twelve month high of $291.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $262.46 and its 200 day moving average is $227.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $219.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $214.95 million. Nova had a net margin of 29.10% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 40.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.