Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts assign Nova a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (8 buys, 2 holds) with an average 12‑month price target of $442.25, and several firms have higher targets up to $520.
• Shares are trading around $532, near the 52‑week high of $533.70, implying a market cap of about $16.9B and a P/E of roughly 66.4.
• Nova slightly beat the quarter with EPS of $2.14 (vs. $2.13 est.) and revenue of $222.6M (+14.3% YoY), and institutional investors own about 82.99% of the stock.

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $442.25.

NVMI has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays began coverage on Nova in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $465.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Nova from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Nova by 660.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,668 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 9,265 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Nova by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,445,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Nova by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,886,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $532.17 on Tuesday. Nova has a 52-week low of $168.18 and a 52-week high of $533.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $457.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $390.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 6.28.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a return on equity of 22.90% and a net margin of 29.44%.The firm had revenue of $222.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $220.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nova will post 9.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova Company 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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