ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s Why

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s share price dropped 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $715.00 and last traded at $719.71. Approximately 586,834 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,457,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at $721.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut ASML from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $283.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $694.48 and a 200 day moving average of $835.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. ASML’s payout ratio is 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in ASML by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,977 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,980,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,166,000. Milestone Resources Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of ASML by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Milestone Resources Group Ltd now owns 14,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,761,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, FFG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the third quarter valued at approximately $341,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.