Zacks Research Upgrades NOV (NYSE:NOV) to Strong-Buy

NOV (NYSE:NOV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of NOV from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on NOV from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on NOV from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NOV in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Capital One Financial upgraded shares of NOV from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.92.

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NOV stock opened at $19.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 73.15 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.66 and a 200-day moving average of $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.66. NOV has a one year low of $11.77 and a one year high of $21.55.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.14. NOV had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 3.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NOV will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NOV

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NOV during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in NOV by 39.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in NOV by 659.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in NOV by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in NOV by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 2,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.27% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting NOV

Here are the key news stories impacting NOV this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NOV reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.31 per share and revenue of $2.13 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates of approximately $0.16–$0.17 and $2.08 billion, respectively. NOV Q2 earnings and revenues beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Net income rose to $112 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 12% year over year to $283 million. Operating profit and Energy Equipment margins also improved, reflecting better execution, sales mix and offshore project activity. NOV reports second-quarter 2026 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited improving industry fundamentals, stronger short-cycle activity, offshore opportunities and growing demand for automation and digital products. NOV also returned $127 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. NOV Q2 2026 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue to be flat to up 2% year over year and adjusted EBITDA of $240 million to $270 million, suggesting continued improvement but potentially lower profitability than the second quarter. NOV Q2 key metrics compared with estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 2% year over year, and Energy Products and Services revenue fell 5%. Bookings of $474 million produced a 74% book-to-bill ratio, while capital-equipment backlog declined $220 million from the prior year, raising concerns about future growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA benefited by approximately $40 million from tariff refunds, making the underlying improvement less substantial. Free cash flow was negative $64 million, adding to investor caution.

NOV Company Profile

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.