Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 33,210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,541,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of Nova at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NVMI. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 89.7% in the 3rd 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. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 4,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 4,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 131.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 13,540 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,821,000 after acquiring an additional 7,678 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 170.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 21,987 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after acquiring an additional 13,858 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nova Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $196.76 on Monday. Nova Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $158.00 and a fifty-two week high of $289.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.65.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The semiconductor company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.50 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NVMI. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Nova from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup raised shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Nova from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.83.

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.