J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,204 Nova Ltd. $NVMI

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 1,204 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nova by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,437,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $395,643,000 after purchasing an additional 166,672 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Nova by 69.2% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 359,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $98,857,000 after buying an additional 146,932 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in Nova by 10.7% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,342,169 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $369,365,000 after buying an additional 129,684 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Nova by 4.9% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $605,701,000 after buying an additional 102,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noked Israel Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Nova by 120.5% in the second quarter. Noked Israel Ltd now owns 181,057 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,827,000 after buying an additional 98,957 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nova Trading Up 3.3%

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $475.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.84. Nova Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $153.99 and a fifty-two week high of $507.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $390.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $329.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a current ratio of 4.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Nova from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Nova in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $335.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Nova from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Nova from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.57.

Nova Profile

Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies advanced metrology and process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company’s core product line includes spectroscopic ellipsometry and scatterometry tools designed to measure film thickness, critical dimensions, overlay alignment and other key parameters that drive yield and performance in integrated circuit fabrication.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, Nova Measuring Instruments has established itself as a critical partner to leading semiconductor foundries and device manufacturers.