Norges Bank Takes Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a new position in Nova Ltd., buying 328,477 shares valued at about $109.6 million in the fourth quarter, representing roughly 1.12% of the company.
• Nova’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.33 versus the $2.20 estimate and revenue of $235.31 million, up 10.3% year over year. The company also issued Q2 2026 guidance of $2.34 to $2.48 EPS.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall: nine analysts rate NVMI a Buy, two rate it Hold, and the consensus price target is $518.22. However, the stock already traded around $520.40 on Friday, near the consensus target.

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 328,477 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $109,568,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.12% of Nova as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Nova by 660.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,668 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Nova by 51.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Nova during the second quarter worth $5,445,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nova by 62.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Nova during the second quarter worth $1,886,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVMI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price objective on Nova 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. Weiss Ratings raised Nova from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research cut Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $518.22.

Nova Stock Performance

Nova stock opened at $520.40 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $497.87 and a two-hundred 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 Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $215.26 and a fifty-two week high of $565.00.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. The company 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%.Nova's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.18 earnings per share. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 426 shares of Nova stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,253,812.13. The trade was a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of Nova stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value 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 represents a 17.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,411 shares of company stock valued at $1,243,018. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Nova 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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