ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) were up 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $762.77 and last traded at $762.59. Approximately 844,281 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 1,412,731 shares. The stock had previously closed at $726.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASML. Morgan Stanley cut ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective 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, Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $955.50.

ASML Stock 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $704.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $800.97. The stock has a market cap of $297.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in ASML by 133.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.