Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Upgraded to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $240.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $226.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NVMI opened at $214.62 on Monday. Nova has a 52 week low of $129.11 and a 52 week high of $247.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.19 and a 200-day moving average of $204.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,281,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $267,487,000 after purchasing an additional 547,833 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Nova by 115.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $146,515,000 after buying an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Nova by 2,733.2% in the second quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 288,986 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $67,510,000 after buying an additional 278,786 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Nova by 45.2% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 645,203 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $151,319,000 after buying an additional 200,816 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at $19,659,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.