Westend Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 10,138 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $7,026,000. ASML accounts for approximately 2.1% of Westend Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchased a new stake in ASML in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,181 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $16,549,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of ASML in the 2nd quarter valued at $323,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in ASML during the second quarter worth $554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ ASML traded up $6.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $756.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,932,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,726. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. 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's 50 day moving average is $706.71 and its 200 day moving average is $799.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.66 billion. ASML had a net margin of 26.40% and a return on equity of 47.61%. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASML. Morgan Stanley cut shares of ASML from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna lowered their price target 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. Berenberg Bank upgraded ASML to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $955.50.

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.