Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Nova from $295.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.00.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI stock traded up $2.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $186.80. The company had a trading volume of 116,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,657. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $188.71 and a 200 day moving average of $207.08. Nova has a 12 month low of $154.00 and a 12 month high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.10. Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The firm had revenue of $213.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 50.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Nova will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nova

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Nova by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,688 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nova by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Nova by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its position in shares of Nova by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 4,742 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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