Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

by · The Markets Daily

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI – Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $466.63, but opened at $435.70. Nova shares last traded at $442.0210, with a volume of 71,453 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total value of $1,486,855.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,394,328.20. The trade was a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on NVMI shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $520.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nova from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $551.25.

View Our Latest Report on NVMI

Nova Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $518.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $464.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a PE ratio of 54.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.74.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The semiconductor company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. Nova had a net margin of 29.21% and a return on equity of 21.77%. The company had revenue of $235.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $227.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. Nova’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Nova has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.340-2.480 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. Strategic Investment Advisors MI bought a new position in shares of Nova in the first quarter worth $109,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd boosted its stake in Nova by 87.7% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 21,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,151,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Nova by 139.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 54,473 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,657,000 after buying an additional 31,678 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Nova by 35.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Nova during the first quarter worth about $356,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nova

(Get Free Report)

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.

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