Equitable Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,182 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,271,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,033,000. Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nova in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $543,000. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new stake in Nova in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,709,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Nova in the second quarter valued at approximately $308,300,000. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Nova in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,704,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nova news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 28,714 shares in the company, valued at $14,394,328.20. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. This represents a 16.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Nova Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $349.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $435.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.78. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $232.73 and a 52 week 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. The business had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.33 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NVMI shares. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nova has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $514.44.

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.