ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 7.1% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) traded up 7.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $765.60 and last traded at $765.08. 993,921 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 1% from the average session volume of 1,006,528 shares. The stock had previously closed at $714.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ASML. Susquehanna cut their price target on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

ASML Trading Down 1.8 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $695.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $811.72. The company has a market capitalization of $292.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its holdings in ASML by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 5.5% in the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 248 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 0.8% in the second quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in ASML by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 80 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 46.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.