Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $232.66, but opened at $241.60. Nova shares last traded at $241.42, with a volume of 30,505 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nova currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.33.

Nova Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $195.79 and a 200-day moving average of $203.93. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 438.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Nova by 89.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Nova in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Nova by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Nova during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

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.