Wall Street Zen Downgrades Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) to Sell

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $453.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $442.25.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $494.49 on Friday. Nova has a fifty-two week low of $176.52 and a fifty-two week high of $550.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 5.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a PE ratio of 61.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $467.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $401.70.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a return on equity of 22.90% and a net margin of 29.44%.The business had revenue of $222.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. Nova’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Nova will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 2,042.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Company Profile

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.