Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Down 9.4% – Here’s Why

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) shares dropped 9.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $530.22 and last traded at $528.1450. 110,491 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 401,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $583.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NVMI. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $500.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $494.00 price objective on shares of Nova 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 report on Saturday, May 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.50.

Nova Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $522.36 and a 200-day moving average of $455.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.69, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.75.

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

Insider Transactions at Nova

In other news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of Nova stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total value of $219,172.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,530.62. The trade was a 17.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total transaction of $243,580.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,046,750.52. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,521 shares of company stock worth $2,449,066 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $605,701,000 after buying an additional 102,250 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Nova by 47.5% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,166,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $940,683,000 after acquiring an additional 697,210 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in Nova by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,493,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $490,502,000 after acquiring an additional 98,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Nova by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,128,957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $377,402,000 after acquiring an additional 15,195 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nova by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $208,293,000 after acquiring an additional 26,940 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.