Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Rating Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

NVMI has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup downgraded Nova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $415.00 in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.44.

Nova Stock Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $321.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $368.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $446.93. The company has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.79. Nova has a 52-week low of $266.43 and a 52-week high of $615.99.

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

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that authorizes the company to buy back $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Nova news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total transaction of $513,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,314,535.78. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total value of $1,403,713.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,777,461.52. The trade was a 15.29% 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. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the third quarter valued at approximately $367,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Nova by 214.3% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth $276,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 4.9% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 688.9% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 71 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) is an Israel-based provider of process control and metrology solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company develops systems that help chipmakers measure and control critical wafer characteristics during production, supporting improvements in process performance, yield and device quality.

Its product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems used to measure dimensions, film thickness, material composition and other parameters across semiconductor manufacturing processes.