Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price objective hoisted by Benchmark from $245.00 to $295.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.67% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Nova in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.67.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NVMI remained flat at $269.00 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 75,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,781. The company has a 50 day moving average of $221.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.11. The company has a market cap of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44. Nova has a twelve month low of $154.54 and a twelve month high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 28.00% and a return on equity of 21.35%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nova will post 5.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Nova by 131.0% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,540 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 7,678 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Nova by 74.6% during the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,281,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $267,487,000 after buying an additional 547,833 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Nova by 121.9% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 145,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,230,000 after buying an additional 79,700 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $15,669,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Nova in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $967,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nova

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.