Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Trading Down 6.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 6.5% on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $248.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Nova traded as low as $174.65 and last traded at $174.70. 34,720 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 225,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.78.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Nova by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $474,980,000 after purchasing an additional 796,629 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Nova by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $146,515,000 after buying an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its stake in Nova by 504.5% during the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 354,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $69,780,000 after purchasing an additional 295,691 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Nova by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 600,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $118,341,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Down 3.4 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.08 and a 200 day moving average of $207.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

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

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.