ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) Short Interest Down 28.5% in March

ASML Holding N.V. (NASDAQ:ASML) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 692,629 shares, a drop of 28.5% from the March 15th total of 968,476 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,693,962 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

ASML Price Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $1,481.77 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $582.75 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $1,396.01 and its 200 day moving average is $1,214.50. ASML has a fifty-two week low of $614.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,547.22.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 27th will be issued a dividend of $3.1771 per share. This is a boost from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.88. This represents a $12.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 27th. ASML’s payout ratio is 25.10%.

ASML News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ASML this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Raised full‑year guidance and strong Q1 profit — ASML reported €8.8B in Q1 sales, €2.8B net income (and an EPS beat) and narrowed/raised 2026 net‑sales guidance to €36–€40B, supporting the long‑term AI/memory equipment cycle. ASML reports €8.8 billion total net sales and €2.8 billion net income in Q1 2026
• Positive Sentiment: AI and memory demand remain the structural driver — management and analysts highlight accelerating orders from memory and logic customers (TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron) and expect EUV systems to be a growing, higher‑margin mix (company targeting at least ~80 low‑NA/EUV units by 2027). ASML narrows 2026 sales outlook … targets at least 80 low‑NA EUV units
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong — multiple firms reaffirmed buy/overweight ratings after the results (Goldman Sachs, Barclays, UBS, JPMorgan), which limits downside from sell‑side repositioning. Goldman Sachs reaffirms buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue vs. consensus mixed — Q1 revenue (~$10.07B) rose year‑over‑year but came in slightly below some consensus estimates despite the EPS beat, producing a muted market reaction. Q1 earnings and press release
• Neutral Sentiment: Regional shift in demand — South Korea overtook China as ASML’s largest market last quarter, reflecting changing end‑customer capex patterns rather than a company‑level problem. South Korea overtook China as ASML’s largest market
• Negative Sentiment: Softer near‑term margin and shipment guidance — ASML guided Q2 gross margin to ~51%–52% (down vs Q1) and reported a sequential drop in system shipments (67 in Q1 vs 94 in Q4), raising concerns about near‑term cadence and margin pressure. QuiverQuant margin and shipment analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Export‑control uncertainty and China exposure — Management flagged outcomes could vary with ongoing export‑control discussions, keeping a cloud over future China sales and timing of shipments. Reuters: ASML lifts 2026 outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: buy‑the‑rumor/sell‑the‑news and reporting changes — Some investors sold into the beat‑and‑raise after pre‑earnings run‑up, and changes in how ASML reports near‑term metrics added to short‑term volatility. Buy the rumor, sell the news analysis

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ASML

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in ASML during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in ASML by 78.9% during the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 34 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV raised its holdings in ASML by 1,150.0% during the fourth quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 25 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of a number of research reports. Grupo Santander downgraded ASML to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. KGI Securities set a $1,415.00 price target on ASML and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of ASML in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,482.50.

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.