Analysts Set Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) PT at $250.83

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $250.83.

NVMI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Nova Stock Performance

NVMI stock opened at $162.03 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $227.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.82. Nova has a 52-week low of $154.00 and a 52-week high of $289.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $186.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter worth $237,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Nova by 26.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Nova by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,658 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of 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. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Nova in the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,000. Institutional investors 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.