ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ASML has been the subject of several other reports. Freedom Capital upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on ASML from $1,625.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,750.00 target price on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,589.63.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $1,641.74 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,490.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,341.23. The company has a market capitalization of $645.66 billion, a PE ratio of 58.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.82. ASML has a 1 year low of $683.48 and a 1 year high of $1,779.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $10.15 billion during the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 48.69% and a net margin of 27.65%. Research analysts expect that ASML will post 37.01 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Regents of The University of California bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth $413,335,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of ASML by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 990,816 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,180,000 after buying an additional 38,660 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ASML by 34.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,583 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,086,000 after buying an additional 4,001 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 314.0% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 24,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,841,000 after buying an additional 18,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 424.3% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 14,388 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,393,000 after buying an additional 11,644 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.