Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 353,906 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 115.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.28% of Nova worth $146,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Nova by 438.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Nova by 89.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Nova by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 767 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at about $211,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Nova from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $273.00 to $224.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.80.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $190.41. 122,207 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 190,568. The company has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $190.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.15. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $128.74 and a one year high of $247.21.

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.