Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $250.83.

Several research firms have issued reports on NVMI. Benchmark upped their price objective on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Nova Trading Up 5.3 %

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $170.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63. Nova has a 1-year low of $154.00 and a 1-year high of $289.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.70.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. On average, equities analysts predict that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Nova by 438.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Nova by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nova during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of Nova by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Company Profile

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.