Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Benchmark Analyst Says

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Benchmark from $245.00 to $295.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 10.09% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.67.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NVMI opened at $267.97 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $223.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.65. Nova has a one year low of $154.54 and a one year high of $289.90. The company has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.50 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.00% and a return on equity of 21.35%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nova will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nova by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $474,980,000 after purchasing an additional 796,629 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its holdings in Nova by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,517,000 after acquiring an additional 101,470 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its holdings in Nova by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $270,015,000 after acquiring an additional 97,000 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in Nova by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,169,625 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,358,000 after acquiring an additional 11,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Nova by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,047,782 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $205,985,000 after acquiring an additional 14,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

About Nova

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.