Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Reaches New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $186.10 and last traded at $196.21, with a volume of 122699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.60.

Nova Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.92.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $474,980,000 after purchasing an additional 796,629 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its holdings in Nova by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $272,517,000 after acquiring an additional 101,470 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Nova by 3.7% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,212,485 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $223,497,000 after acquiring an additional 42,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Nova by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,047,782 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $205,985,000 after purchasing an additional 14,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

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.