Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,212,485 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 42,860 shares during the quarter. Nova accounts for about 2.9% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned approximately 4.14% of Nova worth $223,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new stake in Nova during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,957,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Nova by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,699 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Nova during the 1st quarter valued at about $239,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Nova by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Nova by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,545 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Nova Stock Up 0.5%
Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI traded up $1.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $286.38. The stock had a trading volume of 222,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,540. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $154.00 and a 12 month high of $294.05. The company has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.66. The firm's fifty day moving average is $217.98 and its 200 day moving average is $217.17.
Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 28.46%. The firm had revenue of $213.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. The business's revenue was up 50.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently weighed in on NVMI. Wall Street Zen cut Nova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Benchmark lowered their price target on Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed 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 upped their price target on Nova from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy 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 $282.50.
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Nova Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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