ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Up 2.9% After Analyst Upgrade

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price was up 2.9% on Wednesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $1,092.00 to $1,331.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. ASML traded as high as $1,141.72 and last traded at $1,140.92. Approximately 2,054,568 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 1,674,888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,108.78.

ASML has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,175.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,171.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 153.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 33 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 78.9% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Up 2.9%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,022.60 and a 200 day moving average of $858.81. The firm has a market cap of $448.70 billion, a PE ratio of 46.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $6.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.14. ASML had a return on equity of 47.74% and a net margin of 27.08%.The firm had revenue of $8.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that ASML Holding N.V. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.857 per share. This represents a $7.43 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 25.80%.

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.