Needham Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Needham Investment Management trimmed its Nova Ltd. stake by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,000 shares and leaving it with 111,750 shares worth about $36.7 million.
• Nova beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.33 EPS versus the $2.20 consensus and revenue of $235.31 million, up 10.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with nine Buy ratings and two Hold ratings; the consensus target price is $518.22, while the stock recently traded around $605.65 and hit a 12-month high of $615.99.

Needham Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,750 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Nova comprises 2.3% of Needham Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Needham Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Nova worth $36,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $605,701,000 after buying an additional 102,250 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in Nova by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $490,502,000 after purchasing an additional 98,000 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Nova by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,468,863 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $482,360,000 after purchasing an additional 40,256 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nova by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,128,957 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $377,402,000 after purchasing an additional 15,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Nova by 185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $194,144,000 after purchasing an additional 394,544 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $518.22.

Nova Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $605.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.52, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.75. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $224.00 and a 12 month high of $615.99. The firm's 50-day moving average is $510.74 and its 200 day moving average is $443.16.

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

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 shares were sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total value of $781,297.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,463,892.64. The trade was a 18.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty 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 transaction of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,530.62. This trade represents a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 2,411 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,018 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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