Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases New Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,955 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,033,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NVMI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nova during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Nova in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nova during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Nova by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 130 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Nova by 2,042.9% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nova

In related news, Director Eitan Oppenhaim sold 1,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total value of $749,748.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,731,885.20. The trade was a 16.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Yaniv Garty sold 366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $581.20, for a total transaction of $212,719.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,887.20. The trade was a 15.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,942 shares of company stock valued at $3,419,027 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Nova Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $377.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.76. Nova Ltd. has a 52 week low of $266.43 and a 52 week high of $615.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $410.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.63.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $254.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.33 million. Nova had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 28.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nova Ltd. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NVMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Nova from $465.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on Nova in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nova from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nova from $494.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.44.

About Nova

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.