ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 1.7% – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price was up 1.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $685.00 and last traded at $684.62. Approximately 415,451 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,446,033 shares. The stock had previously closed at $672.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group cut shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered 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 research note on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $970.60.

ASML Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $744.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $873.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $269.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. Analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.