Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Jumps 10.9% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s share price was up 10.9% during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $314.07 and last traded at $310.9580. Approximately 161,966 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 438,223 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.30.

The semiconductor company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.09. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $287.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS.

Nova announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to buy back $200 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Nova News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nova this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nova reported record Q3 revenue of $287.8 million, up 28.2% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $2.86 per share. Both beat analysts’ estimates, and earnings rose from $2.16 a year earlier. Nova Reports Record Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects Q4 EPS of $3.03–$3.18, slightly above the $3.02 consensus, and highlighted more than 33% growth in the second half of 2026. The earnings call coverage also pointed to strong growth and visibility into 2027. Nova Q4 Guidance and Second-Half Growth Earnings Call Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 revenue guidance of $305–$315 million brackets the $306.1 million consensus, offering limited evidence of a substantial forecast beat. Q4 Revenue Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noted that the stock fell after the results, indicating investors may have been looking for stronger forward guidance despite the quarterly beat. Needham also cut its price target to $420 from $570, although it maintained a Buy rating. Nova Q3 Beats but Stock Drops Needham Ratings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NVMI. Evercore set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Nova from $570.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nova from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $482.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nova news, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total value of $1,403,713.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 21,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,777,461.52. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,314,535.78. This trade represents a 5.22% 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. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Nova by 688.9% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 71 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 214.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 1st quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Nova by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nova Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $347.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.96.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Its systems help chipmakers measure and control critical dimensions, film thickness, material properties and other characteristics during the production of integrated circuits.

The company’s product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems, chemical metrology solutions, and related software and analytics tools. These technologies are used in multiple stages of semiconductor fabrication, including front-end wafer processing and advanced packaging, to support process development, yield improvement and manufacturing control.

Founded in 1993, Nova is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, and serves semiconductor manufacturers and other industry customers through operations and support activities across North America, Europe and Asia.