Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Upgraded at Citigroup

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on NVMI. Benchmark boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

Nova Price Performance

Nova stock opened at $204.64 on Monday. Nova has a 12-month low of $128.74 and a 12-month high of $247.21. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nova

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Nova by 253.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,327 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,360,000 after purchasing an additional 25,345 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Nova by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 661,282 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $146,515,000 after buying an additional 353,906 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Nova by 4.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 15,142 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nova by 33.6% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Nova in the third quarter worth approximately $19,659,000. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.