Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Boosts Position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Nova makes up approximately 3.9% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. owned approximately 4.72% of Nova worth $270,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its stake in Nova by 74.6% in the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,281,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $267,487,000 after acquiring an additional 547,833 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Nova by 115.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $146,515,000 after acquiring an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Nova in the third quarter worth $19,659,000. Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its position in Nova by 16.3% during the third quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 647,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,513,000 after buying an additional 90,883 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Nova by 121.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 145,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,230,000 after buying an additional 79,700 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NVMI shares. Citigroup raised Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark raised their price target on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Nova in a report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.33.

Nova Stock Performance

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $253.76 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $145.62 and a one year high of $266.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $213.37 and a 200 day moving average of $205.15. The company has a market capitalization of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.44.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.