Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 4,923 Shares of Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its Nova Ltd. stake by 35.6% in the first quarter, buying 4,923 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 18,768 shares worth about $8.1 million.
• Insider selling continued, with directors Eitan Oppenhaim and Sarit Sagiv selling shares in late June; insiders have sold 4,832 shares worth $2.64 million over the past three months.
• Nova posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target price of $545.50.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 35.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,768 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,923 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.06% of Nova worth $8,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVMI. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nova in the 1st quarter worth $532,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the 1st quarter worth $254,000. Davis Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nova during the first quarter valued at about $869,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Nova during the first quarter valued at about $191,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Nova by 18.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 90,955 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $39,075,000 after purchasing an additional 14,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,731,885.20. This represents a 16.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total value of $243,580.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,046,750.52. This 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 three months, insiders have sold 4,832 shares of company stock valued at $2,638,410. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on NVMI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Nova from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.50.

Nova Price Performance

Nova stock opened at $470.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.74. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $232.73 and a 52 week high of $615.99. The business's 50-day moving average price is $519.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.73.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. Nova had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 29.21%.The company had revenue of $235.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.18 earnings per share. Nova's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 EPS 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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