ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 2.9% Higher – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price shot up 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $757.19 and last traded at $756.43. 519,654 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 1,448,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $735.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ASML shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ASML presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 1.3 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $279.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $700.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $843.57.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders 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 0.79%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the third 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 lifted its stake in ASML by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,855,624,000 after acquiring an additional 70,776 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in ASML by 4,379.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,102,000 after acquiring an additional 870,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 0.3% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.