ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1,602.60 and last traded at $1,587.9310, with a volume of 1263896 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1,520.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ASML. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ASML from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. DZ Bank reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Freedom Capital raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,504.38.

ASML Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,412.73 and its 200 day moving average is $1,279.41. The company has a market cap of $590.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.81.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $10.15 billion for the quarter. ASML had a net margin of 27.65% and a return on equity of 48.69%. As a group, research analysts predict that ASML Holding N.V. will post 37.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in ASML by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,484,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,798,268,000 after purchasing an additional 132,353 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of ASML by 17.3% in 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 buying an additional 577,448 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 24.9% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,933,748 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,861,445,000 after buying an additional 385,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in ASML by 8.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,865,254 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,805,733,000 after acquiring an additional 142,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

About ASML

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.