Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

NVMI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Benchmark cut their price target on 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 Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $277.00.

Nova Stock Down 2.5%

NVMI stock traded down $5.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $212.35. The company had a trading volume of 357,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,830. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $188.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.32. The firm has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.66. Nova has a 1-year low of $154.00 and a 1-year high of $289.90.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

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

About Nova

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.