Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 74,642 Shares of Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 522,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 74,642 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.78% of Nova worth $171,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Nova by 2,042.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Nova in the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in Nova in the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Nova from $500.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nova from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $518.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total transaction of $219,172.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,253,812.13. This represents a 14.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total transaction of $219,172.74. Following the sale, the director owned 2,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,530.62. This represents a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,411 shares of company stock worth $1,243,018. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nova Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ NVMI opened at $514.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $500.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $435.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.75. Nova Ltd. has a 12-month low of $217.50 and a 12-month high of $565.00.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $235.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.02 million. Nova had a net margin of 29.21% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.18 EPS. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.