Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $337.64, but opened at $354.21. Nova shares last traded at $346.24, with a volume of 104,556 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NVMI. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Nova from $640.00 to $570.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $514.44.

Nova Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $426.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.45.

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

Insider Activity at Nova

In related news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of Nova stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $212,719.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,887.20. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at $3,731,885.20. This represents a 16.73% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,442 shares of company stock valued at $2,905,622. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nova

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 19.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 65,163 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,380,000 after purchasing an additional 10,690 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Sigma Planning Corp bought a new position in Nova in the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Nova by 51.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,013,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% 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.