Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Buys Shares of 99,903 Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 99,903 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,801,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.31% of Nova as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nova in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Nova during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the third quarter worth about $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Nova by 75.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 2,042.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of Nova stock opened at $370.92 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $232.73 and a fifty-two week high of $615.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $439.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $469.03. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.78.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.33 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s 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 EPS. Analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.44.

Insider Transactions at Nova

In related news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total transaction of $1,486,855.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,714 shares in the company, valued at $14,394,328.20. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,731,885.20. This trade represents a 16.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.