ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $673.41, but opened at $705.67. ASML shares last traded at $705.19, with a volume of 976,412 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASML has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays raised shares of ASML from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $970.60.

ASML Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $259.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $758.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $883.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. Research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.77 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were given a $1.407 dividend. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.