Invesco Ltd. Cuts Position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Invesco Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 88.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,625 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 900,372 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.40% of Nova worth $22,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NVMI. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Nova by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its holdings in Nova by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,383,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $272,517,000 after acquiring an additional 101,470 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in Nova by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,015,000 after acquiring an additional 97,000 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 296,307 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,423,000 after purchasing an additional 67,734 shares during the period. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its stake in Nova by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 713,003 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $140,455,000 after buying an additional 65,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Nova Price Performance

NASDAQ NVMI traded up $11.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $193.20. The stock had a trading volume of 108,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,202. Nova Ltd. has a twelve month low of $154.00 and a twelve month high of $289.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $207.00 and its 200 day moving average is $207.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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.