ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Up 4.6% – Time to Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price was up 4.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $728.46 and last traded at $714.53. Approximately 2,745,768 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 45% from the average daily volume of 1,900,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $683.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $946.60.

ASML Stock Up 4.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $715.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $778.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. On average, equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,654,921,000 after buying an additional 31,879 shares during the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 3.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after acquiring an additional 70,776 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in ASML by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after purchasing an additional 474,653 shares in the last quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $553,361,000 after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.