Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases 1,325 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 12.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,650 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Nova were worth $2,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NVMI. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Nova by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 604,977 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $83,202,000 after purchasing an additional 259,021 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,638,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nova during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,409,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 317,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,658,000 after buying an additional 52,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 142,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,519,000 after buying an additional 47,295 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Nova in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Nova from $187.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Nova from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Nova in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.25.

Nova Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ NVMI traded up $4.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $235.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 133,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,532. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $219.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.25. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $90.59 and a 1 year high of $247.21. The company has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.36, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.47.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The semiconductor company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.29. Nova had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 26.26%. The company had revenue of $141.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $136.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.