Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $266.13 and last traded at $256.88, with a volume of 342839 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $258.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Nova Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.46 and a 200 day moving average of $204.00. The firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 547,833 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,273,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $265,422,000 after acquiring an additional 78,000 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,169,625 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,358,000 after acquiring an additional 11,915 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nova by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $146,515,000 after acquiring an additional 353,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nova by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 647,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $135,513,000 after purchasing an additional 90,883 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

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.