Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $289.90 and last traded at $275.60, with a volume of 121197 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $245.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Nova Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 48.70, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $219.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.68.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 21.35% and a net margin of 28.00%. Analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Nova by 74.6% in the third 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. boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 115.1% in the 3rd 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. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nova by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $270,015,000 after buying an additional 97,000 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Nova in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,659,000. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 647,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,513,000 after purchasing an additional 90,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.