Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Trading Down 7.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Nova shares fell 7.9% to about $342.32, with trading volume well below its average. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $514.44. Nova recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while revenue rose 15.9% year over year.
• The board approved a $200 million share-repurchase program, covering up to 1.9% of outstanding shares. Insiders have sold shares in recent months, while institutional investors own nearly 83% of the company.

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 7.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $342.65 and last traded at $342.3240. Approximately 99,155 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 447,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $371.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on NVMI. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Nova from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Nova Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $404.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $462.11.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.33 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Nova declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nova news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $212,719.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,887.20. This represents a 15.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total transaction of $513,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,314,535.78. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,942 shares of company stock valued at $3,419,027. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 688.9% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 71 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Nova by 75.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. NASDAQ: NVMI is an Israel-based provider of metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chip manufacturers measure and control critical process parameters during wafer fabrication, supporting the production of increasingly small and complex semiconductor devices.

Nova's product portfolio includes optical and x-ray metrology systems, dimensional and materials measurement solutions, chemical metrology tools, and integrated metrology systems that can be incorporated into semiconductor production equipment.

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