Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Down 7.9% – What’s Next?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s share price traded down 7.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $342.65 and last traded at $342.3240. Approximately 99,155 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 447,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $371.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.44.

Nova Stock Down 8.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $10.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $404.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.11.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Nova declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nova news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. This represents a 16.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sarit Sagiv sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $536.52, for a total value of $243,580.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,046,750.52. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 6,942 shares of company stock valued at $3,419,027. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Nova by 4.9% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $605,701,000 after buying an additional 102,250 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Nova by 47.5% in 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. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $391,367,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nova by 4.4% during the 4th 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. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Nova by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 572,189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,326,000 after purchasing an additional 20,345 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) is an Israel-based provider of metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chip manufacturers measure and control critical process parameters during wafer fabrication, supporting the production of increasingly small and complex semiconductor devices.

Nova’s product portfolio includes optical and x-ray metrology systems, dimensional and materials measurement solutions, chemical metrology tools, and integrated metrology systems that can be incorporated into semiconductor production equipment.