Nova Ltd. $NVMI Shares Sold by Tidal Investments LLC

Key Points

• Tidal Investments reduced its Nova stake by 22.9% in the second quarter, selling 3,000 shares and retaining 10,127 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of NVMI.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $514.44, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Ratings include one Strong Buy, eight Buys, and two Holds.
• Nova exceeded quarterly expectations with $2.51 EPS and $254.96 million in revenue, while revenue rose 15.9% year over year. The company also authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program covering up to 1.9% of outstanding shares.

Tidal Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 22.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,127 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Nova were worth $5,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Nova by 4.9% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $605,701,000 after purchasing an additional 102,250 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,166,073 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $940,683,000 after buying an additional 697,210 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth about $391,367,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Nova by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $208,293,000 after acquiring an additional 26,940 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its stake in Nova by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 572,189 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $247,326,000 after acquiring an additional 20,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on NVMI. Evercore set a $475.00 target price on Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,731,885.20. This trade represents a 16.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of Nova stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total transaction of $1,486,855.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,394,328.20. This represents a 9.36% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,942 shares of company stock valued at $3,419,027. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $371.81 on Monday. Nova Ltd. has a 12-month low of $266.43 and a 12-month high of $615.99. The firm has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a PE ratio of 46.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $404.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.11.

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

Nova announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Nova Profile

Nova Ltd. NASDAQ: NVMI is an Israel-based provider of metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chip manufacturers measure and control critical process parameters during wafer fabrication, supporting the production of increasingly small and complex semiconductor devices.

Nova's product portfolio includes optical and x-ray metrology systems, dimensional and materials measurement solutions, chemical metrology tools, and integrated metrology systems that can be incorporated into semiconductor production equipment.

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