Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Stock Price Down 6.5% Following Analyst Downgrade

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) shares fell 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $248.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Nova traded as low as $174.65 and last traded at $174.70. 34,720 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 225,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $186.78.

NVMI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of 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 Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Nova by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,688 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nova by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,339 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Nova by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 4,742 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Nova Trading Up 0.6 %

The business's 50-day moving average is $212.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $186.50 million. Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. On average, analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

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.