Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 4,238 Shares of Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,238 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Nova were worth $6,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NVMI. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan acquired a new stake in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,013,000. Ruggaard & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Nova in the second quarter worth $411,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth $2,271,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth $1,033,000. Finally, Pinnacle Family Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the second quarter valued at $543,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In other Nova news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $212,719.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,887.20. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total value of $1,486,855.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 28,714 shares in the company, valued at $14,394,328.20. This represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,942 shares of company stock valued at $3,419,027 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Nova Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $349.60 on Thursday. Nova Ltd. has a 1-year low of $232.73 and a 1-year high of $615.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $423.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.79.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $250.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NVMI shares. Weiss Ratings cut Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore set a $475.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Nova 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.