ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 759,400 shares, a drop of 9.0% from the March 15th total of 834,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

ASML Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of ASML opened at $976.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $960.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $790.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.42, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ASML has a 1-year low of $563.99 and a 1-year high of $1,056.34.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a net margin of 28.44% and a return on equity of 68.32%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.34 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ASML will post 20.46 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new position in ASML during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 200.0% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 45 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in ASML by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 46 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ASML by 220.0% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ASML from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ASML from $1,050.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of ASML from $850.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,036.00.

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.