Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $266.13 and last traded at $256.88, with a volume of 342839 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $258.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Nova in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.33.

Nova Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in Nova by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,169,625 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,358,000 after acquiring an additional 11,915 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Nova by 352.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Nova by 253.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,327 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 25,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nova by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is 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.