ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $726.30, but opened at $758.80. ASML shares last traded at $754.24, with a volume of 426,023 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley cut ASML from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $955.50.

ASML Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $703.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $801.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $295.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

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ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 20.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter worth about $16,994,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in ASML by 5.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $117,323,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.2% during the third quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,800,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $39,664,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.