ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 3.6% Higher – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) traded up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $713.68 and last traded at $711.47. 2,325,913 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 1,861,046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $686.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $943.83.

ASML Stock 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 cap of $283.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.69, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $726.48 and its 200-day moving average is $860.97.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,134 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in ASML by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in ASML by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 1,121 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in ASML by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in ASML by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 844 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.