ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

ASML has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut ASML from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Freedom Capital raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morningstar cut ASML to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,589.63.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $1,641.74 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,490.67 and its 200-day moving average is $1,341.23. The stock has a market cap of $645.66 billion, a PE ratio of 58.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. ASML has a twelve month low of $683.48 and a twelve month high of $1,779.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter. ASML had a return on equity of 48.69% and a net margin of 27.65%. On average, analysts predict that ASML will post 37.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in ASML by 195.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,544,705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,652,618,000 after buying an additional 1,022,532 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in ASML by 17.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,791,982,000 after buying an additional 577,448 shares during the last quarter. Regents of The University of California acquired a new position in ASML in the third quarter worth approximately $413,335,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in ASML by 75.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 790,869 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $765,632,000 after buying an additional 340,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in ASML by 16.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,148,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,079,948,000 after buying an additional 305,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Company Profile

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ: ASML) is a Dutch company that develops, manufactures and services advanced photolithography systems used to produce semiconductor chips. Headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, ASML supplies capital equipment and associated software and services that enable semiconductor manufacturers to pattern the intricate circuits on silicon wafers. The company is widely recognized for its leadership in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography as well as its deep ultraviolet (DUV) platforms used across multiple process nodes.

ASML’s product portfolio includes EUV and DUV lithography machines, light sources, imaging optics and control software, together with spare parts, upgrades and field services.