ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 0% Higher – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price shot up 0% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $735.00 and last traded at $728.03. 251,954 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,693,261 shares. The stock had previously closed at $727.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Down 2.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $730.29 and its 200 day moving average is $732.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,108 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in ASML by 6.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,472 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in ASML by 14.9% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,553 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in ASML by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,437 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.