Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Citigroup currently has $240.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $226.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nova presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.00.

Nova Price Performance

NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $214.62 on Monday. Nova has a one year low of $129.11 and a one year high of $247.21. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 40.04, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $191.19 and a 200-day moving average of $204.20.

Institutional Trading of Nova

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NVMI. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 7,678 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in Nova by 74.6% during the third 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 period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Nova by 121.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 145,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,230,000 after buying an additional 79,700 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Nova in the third quarter worth about $15,669,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Nova in the third quarter valued at about $967,000. 82.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.