ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Down to $976.92

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $976.92, but opened at $942.81. ASML shares last traded at $911.44, with a volume of 1,102,558 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James raised their price objective on ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,036.00.

ASML Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $960.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $790.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market cap of $358.81 billion, a PE ratio of 45.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.48.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $7.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. Research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.2% in the first quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 273 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD. boosted its position in ASML by 1.2% in the first quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 898 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 126 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Slow Capital Inc. raised its position in ASML by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Slow Capital Inc. now owns 4,407 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,336,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 541 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.