ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $943.83.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $290.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $707.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $846.97.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The business 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML in the third quarter worth about $16,994,000. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in ASML by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of ASML by 7.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in ASML by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Finally, Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 8.5% in the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 34,767 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $28,970,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently 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.