Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Position Boosted by Meitav Investment House Ltd.

Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 713,003 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,281 shares during the quarter. Nova makes up about 2.4% of Meitav Investment House Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Meitav Investment House Ltd. owned about 2.45% of Nova worth $140,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP raised its stake in Nova by 438.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Nova by 89.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Nova by 31.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Nova by 14.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nova during the third quarter valued at $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Nova stock traded down $4.82 on Friday, reaching $268.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 239,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 244,587. The company has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $229.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.81. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $158.00 and a 52 week high of $289.90.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.50 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. As a group, research analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Nova has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.67.

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.