Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI – Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on NVMI. Barclays decreased their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Nova from $570.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Nova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $550.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Six equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $470.00.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Nova

Nova Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $333.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.85. Nova has a 52-week low of $266.43 and a 52-week high of $615.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $346.06 and its 200 day moving average is $436.62.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $287.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $282.23 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%. Nova’s revenue was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Nova will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Nova news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total value of $513,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The sale 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 21,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,777,461.52. The trade was a 15.29% 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. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth about $15,675,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Nova by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the second quarter valued at about $2,647,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 51.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,238 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 338.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 190,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $82,434,000 after purchasing an additional 146,959 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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