Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $31.35 Million Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,197 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 168,362 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.55% of Nova worth $31,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,688 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nova by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nova by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Nova by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 4,742 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NVMI traded down $1.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $194.63. The stock had a trading volume of 136,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 224,279. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $202.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.89. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63. Nova Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $154.00 and a fifty-two week high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a net margin of 27.33% and a return on equity of 22.33%. The firm had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.50 million. Equities analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NVMI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Nova from $310.00 to $248.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.60.

Nova 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.