Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,403 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,039 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nova were worth $3,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at $10,153,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,375,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,428,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $456,669,000 after acquiring an additional 86,438 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 2,128.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 128,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,121,000 after acquiring an additional 122,869 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $465.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Nova from $370.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $453.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $442.25.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NVMI opened at $494.49 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $467.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $401.70. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $176.52 and a 1 year high of $550.00. The company 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 5.47 and a current ratio of 6.28.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 22.90%. The firm had revenue of $222.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

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.