Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes $52.80 Million Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 99,903 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,801,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NVMI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nova in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Nova in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Nova by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Nova by 2,042.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $514.44.

Nova Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $370.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.91, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $439.60 and a 200-day moving average of $469.03. Nova Ltd. has a 1-year low of $232.73 and a 1-year high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.33 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. Nova’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total transaction of $1,486,855.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,394,328.20. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $212,719.20. Following the sale, the director owned 2,006 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,887.20. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Nova

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.