ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Up 1.4% - What's Next?

Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) rose 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $769.20 and last traded at $760.44. Approximately 698,024 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 1,488,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $750.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $297.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $704.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $800.97.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. Analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in ASML by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 261 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of ASML during the second quarter worth about $201,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in ASML by 10.0% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,119 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in ASML by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 3,526 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in ASML by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,181 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently 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.