Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Invests $2.85 Million in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management initiated a $2.85 million position in Nova, purchasing 5,242 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of the company.
• Nova reported quarterly EPS of $2.51, exceeding estimates by $0.10, while revenue reached $254.96 million, up 15.9% year over year and above analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $514.44, although several firms recently reduced their targets. NVMI shares opened at $418.12, down from their 52-week high of $615.99.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,242 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,846,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $490,502,000 after purchasing an additional 98,000 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Nova by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,565 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,664,000 after buying an additional 6,804 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its stake in Nova by 286.3% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 508,641 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $167,115,000 after buying an additional 376,974 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Nova by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 145,427 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $48,642,000 after buying an additional 23,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the 4th quarter valued at $14,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $418.12 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $232.73 and a 52 week high of $615.99. The company has a market capitalization of $13.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.78. The stock's fifty day moving average is $470.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.84.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.33 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVMI shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nova has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Insider Activity at Nova

In other Nova news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,048,530.62. This represents a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,046,750.52. This trade represents a 18.88% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 7,798 shares of company stock worth $4,125,266. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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