Oberweis Asset Management Inc. Buys 48,600 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 77.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,600 shares during the quarter. Nova comprises 1.0% of Oberweis Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.38% of Nova worth $21,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Nova by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in Nova by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nova by 79.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,182 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NVMI traded down $1.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $194.72. 51,692 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,950. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.89. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $154.00 and a 52 week high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The firm had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Nova 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.