Wasatch Advisors LP Cuts Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Wasatch Advisors cut its Nova position by 39.9% in the second quarter, selling 339,951 shares and retaining 512,690 shares valued at approximately $278.4 million. The stock represented about 1.8% of the fund’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively owned 82.99% of Nova.
• Nova beat quarterly expectations, reporting $2.51 in EPS versus the $2.41 consensus and revenue of $254.96 million, up 15.9% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $514.44.
• Nova shares opened at $395.95, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $476 and their 52-week high of $615.99. Company insiders have sold 7,798 shares worth roughly $4.1 million over the past 90 days.

Wasatch Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 512,690 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 339,951 shares during the quarter. Nova makes up about 1.8% of Wasatch Advisors LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Wasatch Advisors LP owned 1.61% of Nova worth $278,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nova by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,124 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Performance

Nova stock opened at $395.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $474.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.00, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.78. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $232.73 and a 52 week high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The company had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $250.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Nova from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nova news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $212,719.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,887.20. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. The trade was a 16.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,798 shares of company stock worth $4,125,266. 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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