ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1.4% Higher – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price was up 1.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $769.20 and last traded at $760.44. Approximately 698,024 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 1,488,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $750.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $955.50.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $703.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $801.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 31,879 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in ASML by 37.0% during the third 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. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its position in ASML by 4.0% during the third quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, Lone Pine Capital LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 19.0% in the second quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 587,891 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $601,254,000 after buying an additional 93,851 shares in the last quarter. 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.