ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

ASML has been the subject of several other reports. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays raised ASML from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded ASML from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,147.80.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML stock opened at $803.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.05 billion, a PE ratio of 41.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. ASML has a 12 month low of $563.99 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $865.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $937.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ASML will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $1.8732 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. ASML’s payout ratio is 28.50%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in ASML by 4,379.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in ASML by 50.0% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,668,386,000 after buying an additional 572,996 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co purchased a new stake in ASML in the first quarter worth about $542,710,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in ASML by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,657,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,608,921,000 after acquiring an additional 294,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 11,084.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 246,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $238,784,000 after acquiring an additional 243,850 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.