ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $714.36, but opened at $751.06. ASML shares last traded at $754.40, with a volume of 408,292 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $943.83.

ASML Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $695.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $811.72. The firm has a market cap of $292.70 billion, a PE ratio of 38.95, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $1.407 dividend. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in ASML by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 5.5% in the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 248 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Blue Square Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC now owns 1,850 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 80 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in ASML by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.