ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 1.7% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price shot up 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $637.90 and last traded at $626.46. 760,854 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 1,749,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $615.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Down 3.7 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $715.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $724.50. The stock has a market cap of $233.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is 31.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in ASML by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 3,186,667 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,208,615,000 after purchasing an additional 959,696 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,239,421,000 after purchasing an additional 31,231 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ASML by 70,115.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,400,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,282,120,000 after buying an additional 1,398,805 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,252,849 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $868,324,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in ASML by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 962,578 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $667,155,000 after buying an additional 13,115 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.