Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $442.25.

NVMI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays assumed coverage on Nova in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $465.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $453.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Institutional Trading of Nova

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Nova by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Nova by 2,042.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Nova in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Trading Down 4.4%

NASDAQ:NVMI traded down $20.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $433.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 71,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 404,134. Nova has a twelve month low of $153.99 and a twelve month high of $507.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $450.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 5.47. The stock has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.83.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $222.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.43 million. Nova had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 22.90%. Nova’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Nova will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

About Nova

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies advanced metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company’s core product line includes spectroscopic ellipsometry and scatterometry tools designed to measure film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay alignment and other key parameters that drive yield and performance in integrated circuit fabrication.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Nova Measuring Instruments has established itself as a critical partner to leading semiconductor foundries and device manufacturers.