Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Down 6.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s share price was down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $248.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Nova traded as low as $174.65 and last traded at $174.70. Approximately 34,720 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 225,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.78.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on NVMI. Citigroup raised Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Nova by 187.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter worth $112,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Nova by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Stock Down 7.5 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $216.64 and its 200 day moving average is $208.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

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.