ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price was up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $724.98 and last traded at $721.48. Approximately 511,716 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,446,658 shares. The stock had previously closed at $713.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. 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 research note on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.83.

ASML Trading Up 0.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $709.10 and a 200-day moving average of $849.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $282.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.62, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. Analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ASML. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. 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.