Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires Shares of 1,955 Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,955 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Nova by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $514.44.

Nova Stock Performance

Nova stock opened at $377.11 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $410.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.63. The company has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.76. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $266.43 and a 1 year high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Nova

In related news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. This trade represents a 16.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the sale, the director owned 1,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,046,750.52. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 6,942 shares of company stock worth $3,419,027 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nova Company Profile

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.