State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,224 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,041 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,224 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of Nova worth $3,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Nova by 438.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nova by 89.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Nova by 31.4% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nova by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,202 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $257,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nova Stock Performance

Nova stock traded down $6.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $267.46. 109,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,602. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $158.00 and a 52 week high of $289.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a PE ratio of 46.56, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.44. The company's fifty day moving average is $229.36 and its 200-day moving average is $209.81.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised Nova from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark raised their target price on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $246.67.

Nova 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.