Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Price Target Cut to $500.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Barclays from $600.00 to $500.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 59.53% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Nova from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Evercore set a $475.00 target price on Nova in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Nova from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Nova from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $471.67.

Nova Price Performance

NVMI stock traded up $33.12 on Friday, reaching $313.43. 193,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 438,670. Nova has a 12 month low of $266.43 and a 12 month high of $615.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $347.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $437.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 38.72, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.85.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.09. Nova had a net margin of 28.84% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The firm had revenue of $287.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $282.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Nova has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.030-3.180 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Nova will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nova declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, September 2nd that permits the company to repurchase $200 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nova news, insider Shay Wolfing sold 3,864 shares of Nova stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.28, for a total transaction of $1,403,713.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,409 shares in the company, valued at $7,777,461.52. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Gabriel Waisman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.27, for a total transaction of $513,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,214 shares in the company, valued at $9,314,535.78. This trade represents a 5.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nova

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Nova in the second quarter valued at about $15,675,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Nova by 51.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,332 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in Nova during the second quarter worth about $2,647,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Nova by 51.6% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,238 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Nova by 338.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 190,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $82,434,000 after purchasing an additional 146,959 shares during the period. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Nova

Here are the key news stories impacting Nova this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record Q3 results beat expectations. Nova reported revenue of $287.8 million, up 28.2% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $2.86 versus consensus estimates of about $2.75–$2.77. Nova Reports Record Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 outlook points to continued growth. Nova forecast revenue of $305 million–$315 million and EPS of $3.03–$3.18; the EPS range is slightly above consensus. Management also indicated second-half 2026 growth of more than 33%, while its earnings call highlighted strong growth and visibility into 2027. Nova Earnings Call Highlights Strong Growth and 2027 Visibility
• Negative Sentiment: Needham cut its price target. The firm lowered its target to $420 from $570, a potential headwind to sentiment, although it maintained a Buy rating. Needham & Company ratings

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVMI) develops and supplies metrology and process-control solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Its systems help chipmakers measure and control critical dimensions, film thickness, material properties and other characteristics during the production of integrated circuits.

The company’s product portfolio includes optical and X-ray metrology systems, chemical metrology solutions, and related software and analytics tools. These technologies are used in multiple stages of semiconductor fabrication, including front-end wafer processing and advanced packaging, to support process development, yield improvement and manufacturing control.

Founded in 1993, Nova is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, and serves semiconductor manufacturers and other industry customers through operations and support activities across North America, Europe and Asia.