ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $673.41, but opened at $705.67. ASML shares last traded at $705.19, with a volume of 976,412 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ASML. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Barclays upgraded ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $970.60.

ASML Trading Down 5.0 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $259.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $758.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $883.33.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.77 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of ASML by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,840 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,638,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 7.0% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in ASML in the first quarter valued at about $6,655,000. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in shares of ASML by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 1,523.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 45,358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,001,000 after purchasing an additional 42,564 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.