Peregrine Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Peregrine Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 21,020 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $4,140,000. Nova accounts for about 2.4% of Peregrine Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Peregrine Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Nova at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVMI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Nova during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Nova by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Nova by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Nova by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 166,859 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,940,000 after acquiring an additional 38,005 shares during the period. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP lifted its position in Nova by 222.2% during the 3rd quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 4,681 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 3,228 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark increased their target price on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research note 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $246.67.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NVMI stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $273.08. 477,136 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 245,135. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.44. The company's 50 day moving average is $224.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.21. Nova Ltd. has a 1 year low of $154.54 and a 1 year high of $289.90.

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). Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. The business had revenue of $194.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.50 million. As a group, analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 6.74 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.