Nebula Research & Development LLC Increases Stock Position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 324.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,388 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,413 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Nova were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Nova by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Nova by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 4.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,142 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,155,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Nova by 115.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Nova by 253.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,327 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 25,345 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Price Performance

NASDAQ NVMI traded up $4.50 on Thursday, hitting $200.71. 56,711 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 224,212. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $199.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.73. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63. Nova Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $154.00 and a fifty-two week high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The company had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.50 million. On average, research analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised shares of Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.60.

Nova 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.