ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 6.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) shot up 6.2% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $1,525.83 and last traded at $1,513.25. Approximately 2,187,454 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 1,753,134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,424.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on ASML from $2,400.00 to $2,350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ASML from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Argus set a $2,100.00 target price on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $2,204.71.

ASML Stock Up 1.8%

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $1,669.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,601.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $591.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.80.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, September 27th. The semiconductor company reported $14.71 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $13.27 billion during the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 64.24% and a net margin of 34.10%. On average, research analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 46.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 27th were issued a $2.1077 dividend. This is a drop from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.1507. This represents a $8.43 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 27th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is 17.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC bought a new position in ASML in the 1st quarter worth about $4,355,000. Puzo Michael J bought a new stake in ASML during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,795,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in ASML by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 440,721 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $876,783,000 after buying an additional 27,021 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in ASML by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 85,872 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $170,851,000 after buying an additional 3,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,167 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,057,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. is a Netherlands-based technology company that develops and manufactures equipment used to produce semiconductor chips. Its systems are used by chipmakers to create the intricate patterns that form circuits on silicon wafers. The company’s products include extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, along with metrology and inspection equipment, computational lithography software, and related services. ASML also supports customers with system maintenance, upgrades, and technical assistance.