Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,428,607 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,438 shares during the period. Nova comprises about 4.1% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned about 4.86% of Nova worth $456,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in Nova by 4.9% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,200,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $605,701,000 after purchasing an additional 102,250 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Nova by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 1,549,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $428,980,000 after acquiring an additional 58,600 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in Nova by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,437,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $395,643,000 after acquiring an additional 166,672 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. boosted its stake in Nova by 13.4% during the second quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 769,584 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,680,000 after acquiring an additional 90,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Nova by 6.0% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 629,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $173,350,000 after acquiring an additional 35,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.99% of the company’s stock.

Nova Stock Up 2.6%

Nova stock opened at $445.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.26, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $333.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.79. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $153.99 and a 12 month high of $450.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NVMI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nova from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nova in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Nova in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $335.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Nova from $290.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.57.

Nova 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.