Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock: Insider Raanan Cohen Sells 2,456 Shares

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Director Raanan Cohen sold 2,456 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.00, for a total value of $800,656.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,595 shares in the company, valued at $1,171,970. This trade represents a 40.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NVMI stock traded down $12.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $327.64. The stock had a trading volume of 274,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 436,500. The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a current ratio of 6.21, a quick ratio of 5.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Nova Ltd. has a 12-month low of $266.43 and a 12-month high of $615.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $435.34.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $287.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.23 million. Nova had a net margin of 29.87% and a return on equity of 22.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nova from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $470.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,250,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $479,429,000 after purchasing an additional 44,430 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,798,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the third quarter valued at approximately $868,000. Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nova by 4.5% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 4,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,609,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 5.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,696 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,816,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. develops metrology and process-control solutions used in semiconductor manufacturing. Its systems measure the dimensions and material properties of structures on silicon wafers, helping chipmakers monitor and control production processes as devices become smaller and more complex. The company’s offerings include optical and X-ray measurement systems, alongside software that analyzes process data. These tools are used in wafer-fabrication facilities and research and development environments.