ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Price Down 4.1% – Here’s What Happened

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) fell 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $1,426.59 and last traded at $1,463.80. 2,132,680 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 1,970,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,526.51.

ASML News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ASML this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management frames AI as the primary long‑term demand driver in its 2025 annual report, a strategic pivot that supports multi‑year growth expectations and investor confidence. ASML sees AI demand long-term driver (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Major brokers have reaffirmed “buy”/overweight ratings (e.g., Deutsche Bank, Bernstein) and retail coverage remains largely positive — a supportive backdrop for the stock beyond short-term noise. Bernstein keeps buy rating (MarketScreener)
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest has declined from January levels to roughly 997,678 shares (~0.3% of shares; ~0.6 days-to-cover), meaning less concentrated short pressure heading into earnings season.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price targets remain mixed but generally elevated (median ~$1,518), showing continued Wall Street optimism even as near-term demand timing is debated. QuiverQuant coverage with analyst targets
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term selling pressure reflects investor reassessment of ASML’s 2026 outlook: management expects China’s share of sales to fall to ~20% in 2026 as backlog‑driven shipments normalize under export controls, which weakens short‑term growth assumptions. ASML slides as investors reassess China exposure (QuiverQuant)
• Negative Sentiment: After a steep rally into 2026, profit‑taking and higher execution risk for AI‑driven demand expectations magnify downside moves for high‑multiple semiconductor equipment names; ASML’s buybacks provide longer‑term support but don’t eliminate near‑term demand concerns. Anti-AI trade commentary (Barron’s)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ASML shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $1,200.00 price target on shares of ASML in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Santander cut ASML from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,475.00.

ASML Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $575.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,305.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,074.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be paid a dividend of $3.1771 per share. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 27th. This represents a $12.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ASML by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,484,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,798,268,000 after acquiring an additional 132,353 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of ASML by 17.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,919,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,791,982,000 after purchasing an additional 577,448 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in ASML by 16.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 305,435 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in ASML by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,861,445,000 after purchasing an additional 385,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in ASML by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,805,733,000 after buying an additional 142,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.