ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 1% Higher – What’s Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares traded up 1% on Friday . The company traded as high as $708.88 and last traded at $707.30. 255,134 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 669,303 shares. The stock had previously closed at $700.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Price Performance

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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $693.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $821.44. The stock has a market cap of $281.60 billion, a PE ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. On average, equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in ASML in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently 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.