Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $277.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on NVMI. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nova from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of Nova stock opened at $198.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.05.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. The company had revenue of $213.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.39 EPS. Nova’s quarterly revenue was up 50.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in Nova in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 51.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 376 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Nova by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Nova by 187.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nova in the first quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

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.