Nova Ltd. $NVMI Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,832 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Nova were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $10,153,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,375,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 6.4% in the third quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,428,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $456,669,000 after purchasing an additional 86,438 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Nova by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Nova by 2,128.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 128,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,121,000 after buying an additional 122,869 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NVMI shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Nova in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $465.00 target price for the company. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $442.25.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI opened at $494.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $467.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $401.70. Nova Ltd. has a 12-month low of $176.52 and a 12-month high of $550.00. The company has a current ratio of 6.28, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.73, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.78.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $222.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.43 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.90% and a net margin of 29.44%.Nova’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Nova 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.