Nova Ltd. $NVMI Shares Sold by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings reduced its Nova position by 20% in the second quarter, selling 4,372 shares and retaining 17,438 shares valued at approximately $9.36 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of the company.
• Nova reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, beating estimates of $2.41, while revenue reached $254.96 million, up 15.9% year over year. The stock opened at $373.85, down 0.9%, and remains below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• The board authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 1.9% of outstanding shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $514.44, despite recent target-price reductions from several firms.

Hsbc Holdings PLC cut its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,372 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.05% of Nova worth $9,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nova by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nova by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,124 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 20.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Nova by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,885 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,642,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $373.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 46.27, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.76. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $266.43 and a 1 year high of $615.99. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $408.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.14.

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

Nova announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 price target on Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $514.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the 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 $212,719.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,887.20. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,731,885.20. The trade was a 16.73% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders sold 6,942 shares of company stock worth $3,419,027. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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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