ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading 3.6% Higher – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares shot up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $725.55 and last traded at $725.55. 1,668,333 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 22% from the average session volume of 1,366,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $700.60.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped 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 report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays upgraded shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,018.00.

ASML Stock Up 3.2 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $834.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $916.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $285.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, November 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. This represents a $5.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth about $26,000. WD Rutherford LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the second quarter worth $31,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

About ASML

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.