ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $714.36, but opened at $751.06. ASML shares last traded at $754.40, with a volume of 408,292 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 1.8 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $695.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $811.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after acquiring an additional 31,879 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in ASML by 3.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after acquiring an additional 70,776 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in ASML by 37.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after acquiring an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in ASML by 4,379.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $910,102,000 after purchasing an additional 870,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of ASML by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 817,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $836,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Company Profile

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.