Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Price Down 8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Nova shares fell about 8% on Tuesday, trading as low as $557.89 after closing at $605.65, on lighter-than-average volume.
• Despite the drop, Wall Street remains generally bullish: nine analysts rate NVMI a Buy, two a Hold, and the consensus price target is $518.22, with several firms recently raising targets to around $600-$640.
• Nova’s latest quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $2.33 versus $2.20 expected and revenue up 10.3% year over year, though insiders have recently sold shares and the stock still trades at a high valuation.

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) were down 8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $557.89 and last traded at $557.3320. Approximately 247,116 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 399,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $605.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NVMI shares. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price objective on Nova in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Nova from $500.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $518.22.

Nova Stock Down 8.1%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $510.74 and a 200 day moving average of $443.16. The firm has a market cap of $17.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.75.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. Nova had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 29.21%.The company had revenue of $235.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $227.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nova news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total value of $781,297.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,668 shares in the company, valued at $3,463,892.64. This represents a 18.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,253,812.13. This trade represents a 14.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,411 shares of company stock worth $1,243,018 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Nova by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Nova by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,565 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,664,000 after purchasing an additional 6,804 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Nova by 2,128.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 128,641 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,121,000 after purchasing an additional 122,869 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in Nova by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $490,502,000 after purchasing an additional 98,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Nova by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,113,762 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $354,172,000 after purchasing an additional 10,441 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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