ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 987,700 shares, an increase of 30.1% from the March 31st total of 759,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company's stock are sold short.
ASML Stock Performance
Shares of ASML traded up $18.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $918.97. 865,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $955.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $805.93. ASML has a 1 year low of $563.99 and a 1 year high of $1,056.34. The stock has a market cap of $362.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.48.
ASML (NASDAQ:ASML - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a net margin of 27.23% and a return on equity of 56.99%. The firm had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.34 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that ASML will post 20.04 earnings per share for the current year.
ASML Cuts Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. ASML's payout ratio is 27.02%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in ASML by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,977,359 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,767,464,000 after buying an additional 105,196 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in ASML by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,607,702 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,123,710,000 after buying an additional 126,413 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC grew its position in ASML by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,617,083 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,224,002,000 after buying an additional 121,847 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in ASML by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,247,197 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $944,028,000 after buying an additional 32,623 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in ASML by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,173,324 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $888,112,000 after buying an additional 24,368 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of ASML from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,036.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ASML
About ASML
(
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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.
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