Nova Ltd. $NVMI Stock Position Lowered by Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management

Key Points

• Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund trimmed its Nova stake by 7.8% in Q4, selling 10,000 shares to hold 118,865 shares (about $39.0M), which is 5.4% of the fund's portfolio and its sixth-largest position.
• Other institutions boosted exposure — Invesco increased its holding 185.4% to 607,344 shares and Groupama, Rafferty and Barclays also added sizable positions, leaving roughly 82.99% of NVMI owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Analyst and market view is broadly positive: the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" (8 Buys, 2 Holds) with an average target of $442.25, and the stock traded near its 52-week high after a slight EPS beat and 14.3% year-over-year revenue growth.

Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management reduced its holdings in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Nova comprises 5.4% of Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Mivtachim The Workers Social Insurance Fund Ltd. Under Special Management owned about 0.40% of Nova worth $39,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $194,144,000 after buying an additional 394,544 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,915,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,398,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Nova by 2,672.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 175,843 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $56,210,000 after purchasing an additional 169,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 359,221 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $98,857,000 after purchasing an additional 146,932 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $453.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $442.25.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI stock opened at $542.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 6.28. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $176.52 and a 52 week high of $550.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $462.88 and its 200 day moving average is $395.16. The firm has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.80.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 22.90%. The company had revenue of $222.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Nova Company 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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