BlackRock Increases Exposure to Nova: Purchased Shares Worth 800 Million Shekels Since Year-Start

Asset management giant BlackRock has purchased Nova shares totaling more than 800 million shekels since the beginning of the year. This is according to a report published by the provider of control equipment for the chip industry.

BlackRock has purchased 560,000 shares since its previous report, with the Nova share price trading during this period at an average of around 1,450 shekels. BlackRock updated Nova on July 29 regarding the increase in holdings.

Nova is engaged in the design, development, and manufacturing of control systems for chip manufacturing processes. The company provides its services primarily to technology giants. The company's stock has jumped 295% over the last five years to a market value of 36 billion shekels. The company has no controlling shareholder, and its stakeholders are Harel (10%), the American investment house Fidelity (9%), Migdal (7.8%), and Menora Provident Funds (6.3%). Following BlackRock's latest purchase, its stake in Nova rose to 6.8%, compared to 5.26% previously.

Nova is a dual-listed company, trading on the Tel Aviv and New York stock exchanges. Over the last 3 years, Nova's stock has risen by 168%, against the backdrop of assessments that the company will benefit from the growing demand for chips, stemming from the massive investments that technology giants are making in the development and production of AI systems. Since the beginning of the year, it stands at an increase of 15%, after falling in July by 22% in the shadow of declines in the global chip sector.

BlackRock is a leading provider of ETFs and holds many shares as part of its passive activity, so it does not aim to influence the management of the companies in which it invests. It is likely that the increase in its holding in Nova stems from the need to adjust the exposure of some of the indices tracked by the funds it manages. Nova is included in the Nasdaq index and the PHLX Semiconductor index in the US, in addition to the Israeli indices TA-35 and TA-125. Alongside this, BlackRock also manages hundreds of billions of dollars in active equity funds, so it is possible that the increase in the holding also stems from an active investment decision.

The increase in BlackRock's holding in Nova comes against the backdrop of the company's record results. Its revenues totaled 235 million dollars in the first quarter of the year, compared to 213 million dollars in the corresponding quarter last year - an increase of 10%. The net profit in the first quarter stood at 69 million dollars, compared to 65 million dollars in the corresponding quarter - an improvement of 6%. While revenues and net profit rose in dollar terms, they were eroded in shekel terms following the strengthening of the shekel against the dollar by 9.8% in the last 12 months.