Benchmark Issues Positive Forecast for Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Price

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price target boosted by Benchmark from $245.00 to $295.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

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

Nova Stock Down 0.4 %

NVMI stock opened at $267.97 on Friday. Nova has a 12-month low of $154.54 and a 12-month high of $289.90. The company has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.99, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $221.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.11.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 28.00% and a return on equity of 21.35%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nova will post 5.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in Nova by 438.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Nova by 89.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Nova by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Nova in the 4th quarter worth $112,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Nova in the 2nd quarter worth $211,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Company Profile

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.