Cantor Fitzgerald Lowers Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Price Target to $300.00

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $315.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price indicates a potential upside of 36.91% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nova currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.83.

Nova Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NVMI stock opened at $219.13 on Friday. Nova has a 12-month low of $158.00 and a 12-month high of $289.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $240.27 and its 200 day moving average is $211.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.46.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $194.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.50 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nova will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in shares of Nova by 131.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,540 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 7,678 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd raised its position in shares of Nova by 74.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Nova by 121.9% during the 3rd 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 stake in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at $15,669,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter valued at $967,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.