ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Lifted to Strong-Buy at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lowered ASML from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays raised ASML from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on ASML from $1,185.00 to $1,000.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ASML currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,110.80.

ASML Price Performance

ASML stock opened at $833.00 on Wednesday. ASML has a one year low of $573.86 and a one year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52. The business has a fifty day moving average of $848.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $929.53. The company has a market cap of $328.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.37 earnings per share. ASML’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that ASML will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $1.8732 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. ASML’s payout ratio is 28.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KP Management LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. KP Management LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings in ASML by 239.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harvard Management Co. Inc. now owns 93,519 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $95,645,000 after purchasing an additional 66,000 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in ASML by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,457 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in ASML by 122.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 6,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in ASML by 169.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,661,000 after purchasing an additional 14,682 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.