Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 18,893 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,641 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 18,893 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.13% of Nova worth $7,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $474,980,000 after acquiring an additional 796,629 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Nova by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 600,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $118,341,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $272,517,000 after purchasing an additional 101,470 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Nova by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 296,307 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,423,000 after buying an additional 67,734 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nova Stock Performance

NVMI stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $189.06. The company had a trading volume of 38,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,069. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.66. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $153.99 and a 12 month high of $289.90. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $189.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.37.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark lowered their price target on Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nova has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $277.00.

Nova Company Profile

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.