ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 5% – Here’s What Happened

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $955.50.

ASML Stock Up 4.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $298.30 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 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. The company’s 50-day moving average is $702.22 and its 200 day moving average is $801.85.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,994,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in ASML by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of ASML by 7.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

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.