Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $509.12 and last traded at $507.03, with a volume of 194305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $496.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NVMI shares. Barclays started coverage on Nova in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $465.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $442.25.

Nova Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.30, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $450.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $384.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 6.28.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 22.90%. The business had revenue of $222.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Nova’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Nova by 185.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $194,144,000 after purchasing an additional 394,544 shares during the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its position in Nova by 286.3% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 508,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $167,115,000 after acquiring an additional 376,974 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nova during the fourth quarter worth approximately $109,568,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Nova during the third quarter worth approximately $79,915,000. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the third quarter worth approximately $79,398,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies advanced metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company’s core product line includes spectroscopic ellipsometry and scatterometry tools designed to measure film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay alignment and other key parameters that drive yield and performance in integrated circuit fabrication.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Nova Measuring Instruments has established itself as a critical partner to leading semiconductor foundries and device manufacturers.