Noked Israel Ltd Boosts Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Noked Israel Ltd increased its stake in Nova by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 3,280 shares and bringing its total holding to 136,537 shares worth about $44.8 million. Nova is now about 7.2% of the fund’s portfolio and its 5th largest position.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on NVMI, with nine Buy ratings and two Hold ratings, and several firms recently raised price targets, including Barclays to $600 and Needham to $640. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $518.22.
• Nova reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $2.33 EPS on $235.31 million in revenue, while revenue grew 10.3% year over year. The stock was also up 4.2% and opened Friday at $583.05, near its 52-week high.

Noked Israel Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,537 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares during the quarter. Nova accounts for about 7.2% of Noked Israel Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Noked Israel Ltd owned 0.46% of Nova worth $44,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nova by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $605,701,000 after acquiring 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 worth $490,502,000 after acquiring 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 worth $482,360,000 after acquiring 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 worth $377,402,000 after acquiring 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 worth $194,144,000 after acquiring an additional 394,544 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on NVMI shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nova from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $500.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $518.22.

Insider Transactions at Nova

In other news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were 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. This represents a 18.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total transaction of $219,172.74. Following the sale, the director 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. 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 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nova Stock Up 4.2%

NVMI opened at $583.05 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a twelve month low of $217.50 and a twelve month high of $588.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $507.47 and a 200-day moving average of $440.02. The stock has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 72.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.75.

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

About Nova

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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