ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.9% on Analyst Upgrade

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $1,175.00 to $1,275.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a buy rating on the stock. ASML traded as high as $1,113.20 and last traded at $1,108.78. 1,423,406 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 1,673,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,087.99.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ASML. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of ASML from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,093.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in ASML by 153.8% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. City Holding Co. bought a new position in ASML in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in ASML in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 78.9% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $436.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.13, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,015.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $854.28.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a $1.857 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. ASML’s payout ratio is 25.76%.

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.