Nicholas Investment Partners LP Makes New Investment in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired 18,249 Nova shares worth approximately $9.9 million, while institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with one Strong Buy, eight Buy, and two Hold ratings. Nova has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $514.44, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Nova exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.51 in EPS versus $2.41 estimated and $254.96 million in revenue versus $250.33 million expected; revenue rose 15.9% year over year. Meanwhile, insiders sold 5,442 shares worth about $2.9 million over the past three months.

Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 18,249 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $9,908,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.06% of Nova as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Nova during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Nova by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Nova by 2,042.9% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVMI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 target price on Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $514.44.

Insider Transactions at Nova

In related news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. This represents a 16.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,442 shares of company stock worth $2,905,622. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $362.75 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $451.10 and its 200 day moving average is $470.41. Nova Ltd. has a 1-year low of $232.73 and a 1-year high of $615.99. The company has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.78.

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