Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on the stock from $315.00 to $300.00. The stock had previously closed at $219.13, but opened at $212.84. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Nova shares last traded at $211.29, with a volume of 32,684 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup raised Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.83.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Nova by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,658 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Nova by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 98,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,427,000 after purchasing an additional 4,304 shares during the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Nova by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 29,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,735,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Stock Down 5.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $240.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.11.

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

About Nova

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.