ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 5% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 5% on Friday. The company traded as high as $1,447.49 and last traded at $1,424.75. Approximately 1,900,614 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 9% from the average session volume of 1,749,875 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,356.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ASML shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered ASML from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on ASML from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2,079.12.

ASML Trading Up 5.0%

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,683.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,599.36. The firm has a market cap of $549.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Sunday, September 27th. The semiconductor company reported $14.71 earnings per share for the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 34.10% and a return on equity of 64.24%. The firm had revenue of $13.27 billion for the quarter. Equities analysts expect that ASML Holding N.V. will post 46.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 27th were paid a $2.1077 dividend. This is a decrease from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.1507. This represents a $8.43 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 27th. ASML’s payout ratio is 17.53%.

Institutional Trading of ASML

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 31.7% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,459,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,892,869,000 after acquiring an additional 592,125 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 223.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 287,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $379,368,000 after buying an additional 198,505 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in ASML in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $311,859,000. Amundi raised its holdings in ASML by 498.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 156,791 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $311,926,000 after acquiring an additional 130,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,839,202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,767,040,000 after purchasing an additional 101,588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. is a Netherlands-based technology company that develops and manufactures equipment used to produce semiconductor chips. Its systems are used by chipmakers to create the intricate patterns that form circuits on silicon wafers.

The company’s products include extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, along with metrology and inspection equipment, computational lithography software, and related services. ASML also supports customers with system maintenance, upgrades, and technical assistance.

Founded in 1984 as a joint venture between Philips and ASM International, ASML is headquartered in Veldhoven, the Netherlands.