ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares shot up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $693.18 and last traded at $684.88. 2,551,527 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 90% from the average session volume of 1,341,583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $683.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Morgan Stanley cut ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays raised shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective 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. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,018.00.

ASML Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $275.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $840.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $919.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 26.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.37 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American International Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 6,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,617,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in ASML by 63.1% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 106 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 258.7% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 1,076 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 1st quarter worth approximately $188,000. Finally, Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $287,000. 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.