Nova initiated with an Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI analyst Vedvati Shrotre initiated coverage of Nova with an Outperform rating and $210 price target. The company is an optical metrology pure-play benefiting from increasing metrology requirements with transition to smaller and more complex 3D architectures such as GAA architectures and advanced packages, the analyst tells investors in a research note. With increasing complexity, chipmakers are also increasing the use of different materials, which translates to higher demand for Nova’s unique material metrology tools, the firm added.