Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,753 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Nova were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $2,813,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in Nova by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,370,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $270,015,000 after purchasing an additional 97,000 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Nova by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 296,307 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $58,423,000 after purchasing an additional 67,734 shares during the period. SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $327,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Nova during the 4th quarter worth about $2,954,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $268.83 on Friday. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $158.00 and a 52 week high of $289.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a PE ratio of 46.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $229.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.81.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.04). Nova had a return on equity of 22.33% and a net margin of 27.33%. The firm had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NVMI shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark increased their price target on Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova currently 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.