Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $790.00 to $860.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ASML. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $955.50.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML traded down $11.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $727.41. 1,319,666 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,493,166. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $701.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $803.87. The company has a market capitalization of $286.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.08, a PEG ratio of 2.07 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. ASML has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.66 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ASML will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. ASML's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in ASML during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of ASML in the third quarter worth about $43,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.