Swedbank AB Makes New Investment in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,954,000. Swedbank AB owned about 0.05% of Nova as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Nova by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,169,625 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $230,358,000 after purchasing an additional 11,915 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Nova by 352.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Nova by 253.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,327 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 25,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Nova by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NVMI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark raised their target price on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised 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 reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.33.

Nova Price Performance

Shares of NVMI traded up $7.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $248.60. The stock had a trading volume of 138,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,101. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.44. Nova Ltd. has a 1-year low of $144.64 and a 1-year high of $266.13.

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.