Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 111.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,296 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,076 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nova were worth $3,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Nova by 438.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nova by 89.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Nova by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Nova during the third quarter worth $257,000. Finally, SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the fourth quarter worth $327,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI stock opened at $239.18 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $158.00 and a 1 year high of $289.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $236.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.80.

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 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.50 million. On average, analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark increased their price target on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.67.

Nova 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.