ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 5% Higher – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares rose 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $762.77 and last traded at $762.59. Approximately 844,281 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 1,412,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $726.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ASML. Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $955.50.

ASML Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $298.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $702.22 and its 200 day moving average is $801.85.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. As a group, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after purchasing an additional 70,776 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of ASML by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of ASML by 4,379.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,102,000 after buying an additional 870,010 shares during the period. Finally, Windacre Partnership LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.0% in the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after acquiring an additional 25,600 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by 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.