Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Nova Ltd. by 13.5% in the first quarter, selling 10,058 shares and ending with 64,317 shares valued at about $27.9 million.
• Nova’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.33 versus $2.20 expected and revenue of $235.31 million, up 10.3% year over year. The company also issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.34 to $2.48.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on NVMI, with eight Buy ratings and three Hold ratings, though the average target price of $556.67 implies upside from the stock’s Monday opening price of $437.46.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,317 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 10,058 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Nova worth $27,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Nova by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $605,701,000 after buying an additional 102,250 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $490,502,000 after acquiring an additional 98,000 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Nova by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,468,863 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $482,360,000 after purchasing an additional 40,256 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Nova by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,128,957 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $377,402,000 after buying an additional 15,195 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $208,293,000 after buying an additional 26,940 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVMI. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Nova from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research downgraded Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $556.67.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $437.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.74. Nova Ltd. has a 1-year low of $232.73 and a 1-year high of $615.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $508.39 and a 200-day moving average of $473.16.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. Nova had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 29.21%.The business had revenue of $235.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $227.02 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.18 EPS. Nova's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total transaction of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,530.62. This represents a 17.29% decrease in their position. 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 Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total transaction of $781,297.92. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,463,892.64. The trade was a 18.40% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 7,798 shares of company stock worth $4,125,266 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Nova 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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