Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Given New $295.00 Price Target at Benchmark

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Benchmark from $245.00 to $295.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Benchmark's price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.03% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.67.

Nova Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Nova stock traded up $5.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $273.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,655. Nova has a 1-year low of $154.54 and a 1-year high of $289.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.95, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.21.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.35% and a net margin of 28.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nova will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVMI. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,411,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $474,980,000 after acquiring an additional 796,629 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in Nova by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $272,517,000 after purchasing an additional 101,470 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in Nova by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $270,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Nova by 1.0% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 11,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nova by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,047,782 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $205,985,000 after purchasing an additional 14,667 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nova

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.