ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Jefferies Financial Group

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) was downgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ASML. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on ASML from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on ASML from $1,100.00 to $965.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $806.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $913.80.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $815.24 on Thursday. ASML has a twelve month low of $578.51 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $320.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $729.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $718.87.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The semiconductor company reported $6.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.12 by $0.19. ASML had a return on equity of 51.82% and a net margin of 28.32%. The business had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.90 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that ASML will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASML

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ASML by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,025 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,948,000 after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in ASML by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 598 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. boosted its position in shares of ASML by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $119,000. Finally, Heritage Investors Management Corp raised its stake in ASML by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp now owns 1,233 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently 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.