What Happened?
Shares of semiconductor quality control company Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI) fell 5.2% in the afternoon session after investors took some profits off the table as markets awaited signals on future monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole symposium later in the week.
The downturn in the market was largely attributed to a significant sell-off in megacap tech and chipmaker shares. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Broadcom all saw notable drops, dragging down the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Other major tech-related companies like Tesla, Meta Platforms, and Netflix were also under pressure. A key reason for this trend is that much of the recent market gains have been concentrated in the "AI trade," which includes these large technology and semiconductor companies. So this could also mean that some investors are locking in some gains ahead of more definitive feedback from the Fed.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy Nova? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Nova’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 38 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 4 days ago when the stock dropped 4.7% after a broad-based sell-off in the semiconductor sector as industry bellwether Applied Materials (AMAT) released a weaker-than-expected forecast. The downturn was sparked by semiconductor equipment bellwether Applied Materials (AMAT), which saw its stock plummet after releasing a weaker-than-expected forecast. Applied Materials projected current-quarter revenue of about $6.7 billion, far below the $7.3 billion analysts were forecasting. The company cited a slowdown in its China business, reduced demand for advanced chips, and uncertainty around pending export licenses as key reasons for the soft outlook. Because Applied Materials is a major player, its cautious guidance created a chilling effect across the industry, leading to a broad-based sell-off. The negative sentiment was significant enough to drag down shares of other chip-related companies, including Nova, despite any of its own recent positive news.
Nova is up 22.6% since the beginning of the year, but at $248.75 per share, it is still trading 13.1% below its 52-week high of $286.38 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Nova’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $4,486.
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