ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 1.9% – What’s Next?

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) shares shot up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,722.33 and last traded at $1,711.32. 1,307,881 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 1,783,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,679.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,971.00 to $2,623.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,970.33.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $673.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $1,719.69 and its 200-day moving average is $1,621.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $10.62 billion during the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 30.11% and a return on equity of 52.71%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 44.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were paid a $2.1507 dividend. This represents a $8.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 195.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,652,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,532 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in ASML by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,459,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,892,869,000 after purchasing an additional 592,125 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in ASML by 223.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 287,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $379,368,000 after purchasing an additional 198,505 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its position in ASML by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 669,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $716,790,000 after buying an additional 140,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in ASML by 498.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 156,791 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $311,926,000 after buying an additional 130,573 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. is a Netherlands-based technology company that develops and manufactures lithography systems used by semiconductor manufacturers to produce integrated circuits. Its equipment uses light to project intricate circuit patterns onto silicon wafers, an essential step in the production of chips for computers, smartphones, automobiles, data centers and other electronic devices.

The company’s product portfolio includes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems and advanced metrology and inspection technologies.