Korea Investment CORP Invests $4.38 Million in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,277 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,375,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NVMI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at $391,367,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,166,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $940,683,000 after buying an additional 697,210 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Nova by 185.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 607,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $194,144,000 after buying an additional 394,544 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew 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 valued at $167,115,000 after buying an additional 376,974 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nova during the fourth quarter worth about $109,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In other news, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total value of $243,580.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,046,750.52. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of Nova stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $212,719.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,887.20. This trade represents a 15.43% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,442 shares of company stock worth $2,905,622. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nova Stock Down 3.8%

NVMI opened at $362.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.89, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $451.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $470.41. Nova Ltd. has a twelve month low of $232.73 and a twelve month high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.33 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.44.

Nova 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.