Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Sold by TimesSquare Capital Management LLC

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,730 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 3,210 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Nova worth $5,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of Nova by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,281,869 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $267,487,000 after buying an additional 547,833 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 115.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nova by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Nova in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,659,000. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nova by 16.3% in the third quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 647,722 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $135,513,000 after purchasing an additional 90,883 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NVMI. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $246.67.

Nova Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NVMI stock traded down $5.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $267.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 123,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,850. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $229.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.81. Nova Ltd. has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $289.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.44.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $186.50 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.