USS Investment Management Ltd Acquires New Holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

USS Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,332 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,232,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Nova by 352.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,169,625 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $230,358,000 after buying an additional 11,915 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,954,000. Finally, SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $327,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nova from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.00.

Nova Stock Performance

NVMI traded up $10.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $211.46. 282,618 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 231,649. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.01. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $154.00 and a 1 year high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $213.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.10 million. Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. Nova's revenue for the quarter was up 50.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.