ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $726.30, but opened at $758.80. ASML shares last traded at $754.24, with a volume of 426,023 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of 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 shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $955.50.

ASML Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $702.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $801.85. The firm has a market cap of $297.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.47.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in ASML during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ASML during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 46.9% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 47 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ASML Company Profile

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.