Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its Nova stake by 17.2% in the second quarter, selling 12,975 shares and retaining 62,350 shares worth approximately $33.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.99% of the company.
• Nova exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.51 in EPS and $254.96 million in revenue, with revenue rising 15.9% year over year. The board also authorized a $200 million share-repurchase program covering up to 1.9% of outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $514.44 price target, although Nova shares opened at $372.10—below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Insiders have sold 6,942 shares worth $3.42 million over the past 90 days.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 17.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,350 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 12,975 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.20% of Nova worth $33,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nova by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nova by 2.7% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,124 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Nova by 20.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nova by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,997 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Nova by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,885 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,642,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Trading Up 5.5%

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $372.10 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $248.87 and a 12 month high of $615.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.50. The company has a market capitalization of $11.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.05, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Nova declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Nova

In other news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $212,719.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,887.20. This trade represents a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of Nova stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total value of $243,580.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,046,750.52. This trade represents a 18.88% 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 6,942 shares of company stock worth $3,419,027 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NVMI shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Nova from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Nova from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $514.44.

About Nova

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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