Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 13.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,317 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 10,058 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nova were worth $27,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Nova by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 38,565 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,664,000 after acquiring an additional 6,804 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nova by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $490,502,000 after acquiring an additional 98,000 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Nova in the fourth quarter valued at $14,056,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Nova by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 145,427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,642,000 after purchasing an additional 23,280 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total transaction of $1,486,855.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,394,328.20. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total transaction of $781,297.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,668 shares in the company, valued at $3,463,892.64. This represents a 18.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,798 shares of company stock valued at $4,125,266. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $437.46 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.74. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $232.73 and a one year high of $615.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $508.39 and its 200 day moving average is $473.16.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $235.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.02 million. Nova had a net margin of 29.21% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NVMI shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $556.67.

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.