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

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $722.38, but opened at $740.00. ASML shares last traded at $742.82, with a volume of 335,891 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $943.83.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $702.89 and a 200-day moving average of $844.50.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a $1.407 dividend. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in ASML by 4,379.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 889,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $910,102,000 after purchasing an additional 870,010 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in ASML by 94,079.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,096,410,000 after buying an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of ASML by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,464,061,000 after acquiring an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 321.2% during the 2nd quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd now owns 202,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $207,559,000 after acquiring an additional 154,760 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in ASML in the third quarter valued at approximately $125,952,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.