Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,010 Shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,197 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.41% of Nova worth $24,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in Nova by 438.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring 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 $68,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Nova by 15.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Nova in the second quarter valued at $211,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NVMI shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on Nova from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup lowered Nova from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $273.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.80.

Nova Price Performance

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $203.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.28. Nova Ltd. has a one year low of $128.74 and a one year high of $247.21.

About Nova

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.