Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) shares gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $252.38, but opened at $227.03. Nova shares last traded at $222.48, with a volume of 119,540 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NVMI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Nova in a report on Monday, January 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $275.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup raised Nova from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $240.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price target on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.33.

Nova Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in Nova by 74.6% in 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 buying an additional 547,833 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nova by 115.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $146,515,000 after purchasing an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,659,000. Meitav Investment House Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nova by 16.3% during the third quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 647,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $135,513,000 after buying an additional 90,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Nova by 121.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 145,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,230,000 after buying an additional 79,700 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.