Short Interest in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Declines By 15.3%

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 998,900 shares, a decline of 15.3% from the December 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 215,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Nova Stock Up 1.3 %

NVMI stock traded up $3.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.18. The company had a trading volume of 210,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,224. Nova has a 1-year low of $142.53 and a 1-year high of $266.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $209.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.62. The firm has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark raised their price objective on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 438.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 89.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Nova in the second quarter worth approximately $211,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Nova by 31.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Nova by 14.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

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.