Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,039 Shares of Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Oppenheimer Asset Management reduced its stake in Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 26.2% in Q4, selling 4,039 shares and retaining 11,403 shares valued at $3.745 million.
• Several large institutions increased or initiated positions—notably Invesco (+185.4% to 607,344 shares, ~$194.1M), Barclays (+2,672.2% to 175,843 shares) and Lazard (+69.2% to 359,221 shares)—and institutional investors now own 82.99% of NVMI.
• Nova beat Q4 EPS expectations ($2.14 vs. $2.13) with revenue up 14.3% YoY to $222.6M; the stock trades at a P/E of 61.7, market cap ~$15.7B, and carries a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy (price target $442.25).

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,403 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,039 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Nova were worth $3,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NVMI. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 185.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $194,144,000 after purchasing an additional 394,544 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,915,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,398,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 2,672.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 175,843 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $56,210,000 after purchasing an additional 169,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 359,221 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $98,857,000 after purchasing an additional 146,932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of Nova stock opened at $494.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 6.28, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Nova Ltd. has a 12-month low of $176.52 and a 12-month high of $550.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.73, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.78. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $467.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $401.70.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $465.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nova presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $442.25.

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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