NOV (NYSE:NOV) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

NOV (NYSE:NOV) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

NOV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Capital One Financial raised NOV from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of NOV in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on NOV from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NOV from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of NOV from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.92.

NOV Stock Performance

Shares of NOV stock opened at $19.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.15 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.40. NOV has a one year low of $11.77 and a one year high of $21.55.

NOV (NYSE:NOV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.08 billion. NOV had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 3.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NOV will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in NOV by 1,743.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,059,400 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $79,080,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785,015 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NOV by 401.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,165,518 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $39,347,000 after buying an additional 2,534,815 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NOV by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,721,997 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $42,545,000 after buying an additional 1,178,838 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of NOV during the third quarter worth about $14,114,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of NOV by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,668,127 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $72,963,000 after buying an additional 1,053,354 shares during the period. 93.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key NOV News

Here are the key news stories impacting NOV this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NOV reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.31 per share and revenue of $2.13 billion, exceeding Wall Street estimates of approximately $0.16–$0.17 and $2.08 billion, respectively. NOV Q2 earnings and revenues beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Net income rose to $112 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 12% year over year to $283 million. Operating profit and Energy Equipment margins also improved, reflecting better execution, sales mix and offshore project activity. NOV reports second-quarter 2026 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited improving industry fundamentals, stronger short-cycle activity, offshore opportunities and growing demand for automation and digital products. NOV also returned $127 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. NOV Q2 2026 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue to be flat to up 2% year over year and adjusted EBITDA of $240 million to $270 million, suggesting continued improvement but potentially lower profitability than the second quarter. NOV Q2 key metrics compared with estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined 2% year over year, and Energy Products and Services revenue fell 5%. Bookings of $474 million produced a 74% book-to-bill ratio, while capital-equipment backlog declined $220 million from the prior year, raising concerns about future growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted EBITDA benefited by approximately $40 million from tariff refunds, making the underlying improvement less substantial. Free cash flow was negative $64 million, adding to investor caution.

About NOV

National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) is a leading provider of equipment and technology to the oil and gas industry. The company designs, manufactures and services an extensive portfolio of products used in drilling, completion and production operations. Its offerings include drilling rigs and related components, wellbore technologies such as tubulars and completion tools, surface equipment including mud pumps and blowout preventers, and aftermarket parts and services that support ongoing field operations.

NOV’s business is organized to serve upstream energy companies around the world.