Bank of America Lowers Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Price Target to $248.00

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Bank of America from $310.00 to $248.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on NVMI. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.60.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NVMI traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $175.62. The stock had a trading volume of 296,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 226,860. Nova has a 12-month low of $154.00 and a 12-month high of $289.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $212.08 and a 200-day moving average of $207.70. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that Nova will post 7.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Nova by 24.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 401 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Nova by 187.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Nova in the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Nova by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Nova by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Company 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.