ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Short Interest Update

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the December 31st total of 1,730,000 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,740,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML traded up $2.32 on Friday, hitting $739.31. 2,125,582 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,835,136. The company has a 50 day moving average of $719.37 and a 200-day moving average of $775.53. ASML has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $290.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 50.53% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML will post 25.07 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.6414 per share. This represents a $6.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 26.83%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in ASML by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after purchasing an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at about $125,952,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 281.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,601,000 after purchasing an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 97,001.7% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 113,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $94,665,000 after buying an additional 113,492 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

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.