SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 352.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,618 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Nova were worth $713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 131.0% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,821,000 after buying an additional 7,678 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Nova by 74.6% in the third quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,281,869 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $267,487,000 after purchasing an additional 547,833 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Nova by 121.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 145,100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,230,000 after purchasing an additional 79,700 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Nova in the third quarter worth approximately $15,669,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at $967,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NVMI. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.33.

Nova Stock Up 4.1 %

NVMI traded up $9.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $242.01. 127,044 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,360. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. Nova Ltd. has a 52-week low of $142.53 and a 52-week high of $266.13. The company's fifty day moving average price is $206.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.33.

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.