The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 8,854 Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased 8,854 shares of Nova, valued at approximately $4.67 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of the semiconductor metrology company.
• Nova exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.51 in EPS and $254.96 million in revenue, with revenue up 15.9% year over year. Analysts project $9.89 in full-year EPS.
• Nova shares opened at $348.45, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $514.44.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,854 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $4,671,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Phoenix Financial Ltd. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 376,974 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Nova by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 145,427 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $48,642,000 after acquiring an additional 23,280 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Nova by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Nova by 94.3% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 27,115 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 13,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $14,056,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI opened at $348.45 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $430.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $467.43. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a PE ratio of 43.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.78. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $232.73 and a 1 year high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The firm had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Nova news, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951 shares in the company, valued at $1,046,750.52. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. This trade represents a 16.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NVMI. Barclays raised their price objective on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.44.

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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