Citigroup Cuts Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Price Target to $550.00

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its target price cut by Citigroup from $595.00 to $550.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on NVMI. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research cut Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore set a $475.00 price objective on Nova in a report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $514.44.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $405.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $473.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $474.58. Nova has a 1-year low of $232.73 and a 1-year high of $615.99.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $254.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $250.33 million. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nova will post 9.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nova

In other Nova news, Director Yaniv Garty sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.49, for a total transaction of $219,172.74. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,530.62. This represents a 17.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.48, for a total transaction of $781,297.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,463,892.64. This represents a 18.40% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 7,798 shares of company stock worth $4,125,266. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Nova in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Nova by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 2,042.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Company 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.