Citigroup Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Nova Ltd. $NVMI

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ:NVMI) by 2,128.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,869 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.44% of Nova worth $41,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in Nova by 4.0% during the third quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 52,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $16,177,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Nova by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 329,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $104,721,000 after acquiring an additional 11,745 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nova by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,113,762 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $354,172,000 after acquiring an additional 10,441 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nova during the 3rd quarter worth about $128,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nova by 92.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 22,933 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,331,000 after acquiring an additional 10,992 shares during the last quarter. 82.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NVMI shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Nova from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Nova from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Nova from $280.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $453.00 price objective on shares of Nova in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Nova in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nova presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $439.00.

Nova Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ NVMI opened at $455.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 6.28 and a quick ratio of 5.47. Nova Ltd. has a 12 month low of $153.99 and a 12 month high of $507.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $411.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $341.32.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.01. Nova had a net margin of 29.44% and a return on equity of 22.90%. The company had revenue of $222.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Nova has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.130-2.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nova Ltd. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Nova

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.