ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Jumps 3.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• ASML shares rose 3.3% to $1,867.31, trading above both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $2,500, while the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $1,970.33.
• ASML reported quarterly revenue of $10.62 billion and earnings of $8.65 per share, though its quarterly dividend was reduced to $2.1507 from $3.1771.

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 3.3% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $1,873.50 and last traded at $1,867.31. 1,334,857 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 1,759,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,808.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ASML. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Monday. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $2,200.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,970.33.

ASML Trading Up 3.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,718.54 and its 200 day moving average is $1,642.04. The company has a market cap of $734.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.77.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, June 28th. The semiconductor company reported $8.65 earnings per share for the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 30.11% and a return on equity of 52.71%. The business had revenue of $10.62 billion during the quarter. Research analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 44.01 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 28th were issued a $2.1507 dividend. This represents a $8.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 28th. This is a negative change from ASML's previous quarterly dividend of $3.1771. ASML's payout ratio is currently 22.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 195.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,705 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,652,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,532 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in ASML by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,459,420 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,892,869,000 after purchasing an additional 592,125 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in ASML by 223.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 287,225 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $379,368,000 after purchasing an additional 198,505 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 669,985 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $716,790,000 after purchasing an additional 140,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in ASML by 498.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 156,791 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $311,926,000 after purchasing an additional 130,573 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. is a Netherlands-based technology company that develops and manufactures advanced lithography systems used by semiconductor manufacturers to produce integrated circuits. Its equipment projects patterns onto silicon wafers, enabling the creation of increasingly smaller and more powerful semiconductor features.

ASML's product portfolio includes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, and related metrology and inspection solutions.

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