Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) Short Interest Down 15.3% in January

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 998,900 shares, a drop of 15.3% from the December 31st total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 215,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Nova by 438.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Nova by 89.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Nova during the second quarter valued at about $211,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Nova by 31.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 14.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nova Stock Performance

NVMI traded up $7.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $248.60. The stock had a trading volume of 138,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,101. The business has a fifty day moving average of $211.84 and a 200 day moving average of $204.84. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.44. Nova has a 1 year low of $144.64 and a 1 year high of $266.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NVMI shares. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Nova in a research note on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.33.

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.