Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 17,438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,363,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.05% of Nova as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Phoenix Financial Ltd. boosted its position in Nova by 286.3% in the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 508,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $167,115,000 after purchasing an additional 376,974 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Nova by 19.1% during the fourth 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. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the fourth quarter worth about $14,056,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Nova by 51.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,224,000 after buying an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Nova in the second quarter worth about $15,675,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Trading Down 5.9%

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $349.06 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a twelve month low of $232.73 and a twelve month high of $615.99. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.78. The company’s 50 day moving average is $435.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.19.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The firm had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.33 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NVMI shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of Nova stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total value of $1,486,855.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares in the company, valued at $14,394,328.20. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,046,750.52. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.