ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) Stock Price Down 0.2%: What's Next?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) saw a slight decrease of 0.2% during midday trading on Thursday. The stock reached a low of $659.61 and was last traded at $670.48. In total, about 1,231,751 shares changed hands, which is 15% lower than the average trading volume of 1,449,758 shares. The previous closing price was $671.97.

Wall Street Analyst Opinions

A number of analysts have shared their insights on ASML's stock. On October 17th, Wells Fargo & Company revised its price target for ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00, while maintaining an 'overweight' rating. Similarly, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased its price estimate from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and issued an 'outperform' rating on October 21st. On September 20th, Morgan Stanley changed its rating on ASML from 'overweight' to 'equal weight'. UBS Group also lowered its rating from 'buy' to 'neutral' back on September 4th. On the same day as Wells Fargo's update, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its price target from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00, maintaining an 'overweight' rating. Currently, three analysts recommend holding the stock, nine suggest a buy, and two give it a strong buy rating. According to MarketBeat, ASML has a consensus rating of 'Moderate Buy' with a target price of $970.60.

ASML's Financial Performance

The company’s financial metrics indicate a solid background, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84, and a current ratio of 1.55. The 50-day moving average stands at $737.53, while the 200-day moving average is $868.72. Its market capitalization is $263.78 billion, accompanied by a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 1.99, and a beta value of 1.51.

ASML reported its most recent quarterly results on October 15th. The semiconductor company earned $5.80 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $5.24 by $0.56. The reported revenue for this quarter was $8.21 billion, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $7.66 billion. The company also achieved a remarkable return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. Analysts expect ASML to post approximately $20.68 in earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Update

Recently, ASML announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on November 7th. Investors who were on the record as of October 29th received a dividend of $1.407. This translates to an annualized dividend of $5.63 and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was on October 29th, and ASML has a dividend payout ratio of 29.21%.

Institutional Investors and ASML

Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their holdings in ASML. For instance, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in the second quarter by 1.0%, now holding 975 shares, valued at $997,000 after buying ten additional shares. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings by 1.1%, owning 1,134 shares worth $1,159,000 after an increase of twelve shares during the same period. Furthermore, Pure Financial Advisors LLC and First Pacific Financial also raised their stakes in the company slightly during the second quarter. Currently, 26.07% of ASML shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ASML

ASML Holding N.V. specializes in the development, production, marketing, and servicing of advanced semiconductor equipment systems tailored for chip manufacturers. The company provides cutting-edge systems for lithography, metrology, and inspection, along with extreme ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet lithography systems that cater to a variety of semiconductor technologies.

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