TD Asset Management Inc Boosts Stock Position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc. increased its stock position in Nova Ltd. by 152.1% in Q1, owning 11,493 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Nova Ltd. reported an earnings per share of $2.18, beating estimates of $2.08, with a revenue of $213.36 million for the quarter, reflecting a 50.5% year-over-year increase.
• Investment analysts have mixed ratings on Nova, with two rating it as a "hold" and four as a "buy," leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $282.50.

TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 152.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,493 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,934 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Nova were worth $2,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 122.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 39,901 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,355,000 after buying an additional 21,941 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama purchased a new position in Nova during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,957,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Nova during the 1st quarter valued at about $239,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Nova by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 22,472 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Nova during the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NVMI stock traded up $9.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $272.75. 138,182 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,143. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $153.99 and a 1 year high of $291.99. The company's 50 day moving average is $250.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.22. The firm has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.67.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 23.98% and a net margin of 28.46%. The firm had revenue of $213.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 50.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVMI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Nova in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Nova from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $282.50.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.