Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) CEO Gabriel Waisman Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of Nova stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total value of $513,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,314,535.78. The trade was a 5.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Gabriel Waisman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 2nd, Gabriel Waisman sold 2,966 shares of Nova stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.30, for a total value of $1,486,855.80.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NVMI opened at $349.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.27, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $423.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.79. Nova Ltd. has a 52-week low of $232.73 and a 52-week high of $615.99.

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

Nova announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, September 2nd that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NVMI shares. Evercore set a $475.00 price target on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nova from $595.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Nova from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $514.44.

Institutional Trading of Nova

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

Nova Company 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.