Zacks Research Downgrades ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded ASE Technology from “strong buy” to “hold,” though Weiss Ratings recently upgraded the stock to “buy.” Overall analyst sentiment remains “Moderate Buy,” based on two Buy ratings and one Hold rating.
• ASE Technology reported quarterly EPS of $0.29, exceeding the $0.23 consensus estimate. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $1.21.
• The stock opened at $37.06, with a market capitalization of $82.84 billion and a 52-week range of $9.85 to $45.51. Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 6.8% of the shares.

ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ASE Technology from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ASE Technology Stock Performance

NYSE:ASX opened at $37.06 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.07. ASE Technology has a fifty-two week low of $9.85 and a fifty-two week high of $45.51. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.92. The company has a market capitalization of $82.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.10 and a beta of 1.71.

ASE Technology (NYSE:ASX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. ASE Technology had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 16.12%. The firm had revenue of $81.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.96 billion. Research analysts anticipate that ASE Technology will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASE Technology

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of ASE Technology by 50.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 7,392,190 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $76,361,000 after buying an additional 2,491,918 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ASE Technology by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 20,010,829 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $322,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,997,888 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in ASE Technology by 130.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,169,267 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796,357 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in ASE Technology by 18.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,815,184 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $91,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in ASE Technology by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,607,588 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $170,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330,580 shares during the period. 6.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ASE Technology

ASE Technology Holding Co, Ltd. NYSE: ASX, commonly referred to as ASE, is a Taiwan-based provider of semiconductor assembly and testing services. The company focuses on back-end semiconductor manufacturing and related services that prepare integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices for final use. Its core activities include advanced IC packaging, final testing, wafer probing, and related engineering and supply-chain support for semiconductor customers.

ASE offers a range of products and technical capabilities designed to meet increasingly complex packaging and system-in-package requirements.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source