Citigroup Upgrades Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) to “Buy”

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $240.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $226.00. Citigroup’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.28% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on NVMI. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a report on Friday, November 8th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

Nova Stock Performance

Shares of Nova stock opened at $204.64 on Monday. Nova has a 1 year low of $128.74 and a 1 year high of $247.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $204.58. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 38.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nova

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its position in Nova by 438.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nova by 89.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Nova during the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Nova by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Nova during the 2nd quarter valued at $211,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nova Company Profile

Nova Ltd. designs, develops, produces, and sells process control systems used in the manufacture of semiconductors in Israel, Taiwan, the United States, China, Korea, and internationally. Its product portfolio includes a set of metrology platforms for dimensional, films, and materials and chemical metrology measurements for process control for various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, including lithography, etch, chemical mechanical planarization, deposition, electrochemical plating, and advanced packaging.