Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Trading 4.5% Higher - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) shares rose 4.5% to $270.23, although trading volume was significantly down at 43,142 shares compared to an average of 276,772 shares.
• Recent analyst reports show a mixed view on Nova, with price targets ranging from $270.00 to $300.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The latest earnings report indicated a quarterly revenue increase of 50.5% year-over-year, with earnings per share exceeding estimates at $2.18.

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) shares were up 4.5% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $269.78 and last traded at $270.23. Approximately 43,142 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 276,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVMI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Nova in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Nova from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Nova from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nova currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $282.50.

Nova Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.81, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $249.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.14.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $213.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.10 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.46% and a return on equity of 23.98%. The company's revenue was up 50.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Nova by 122.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 39,901 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,355,000 after buying an additional 21,941 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,957,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 1st quarter valued at about $239,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Nova by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 22,472 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

About Nova

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.