ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $711.96 and last traded at $708.30. 376,104 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,449,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $693.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASML has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Stock Up 2.0 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $693.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $819.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lantz Financial LLC bought a new position in ASML during the second quarter worth $216,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in ASML by 53.2% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 360 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in ASML by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 7,738 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,914,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. SouthState Corp lifted its position in ASML by 180.0% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 98 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Asset Management grew its position in shares of ASML by 11.7% in the second quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 2,624 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. develops, produces, markets, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems for chipmakers. It offers advanced semiconductor equipment systems, including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company also provides extreme ultraviolet lithography systems; and deep ultraviolet lithography systems comprising immersion and dry lithography solutions to manufacture various range of semiconductor nodes and technologies.