Billionaire activist Dan Loeb‘s Third Point LLC raised a stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the second quarter. The investor more than doubled its stake in the semiconductor company, increasing it from 12,000 in the first quarter of 2026 to 30,000 as of June 30.
Meanwhile, Third Point exited its entire stake in ASML’s peers – NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO), KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) during the second quarter.
ASML Recent Key News:
- The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker reported second-quarter earnings of $8.82 per share, beating the Wall Street consensus estimate of $7.98. Revenue rose to $10.84 billion, topping analysts’ expectations of $10.28 billion.
- For the third quarter, ASML expects revenue of between 11 billion euros and 12 billion euros, with a gross margin of 55% to 57%. It also forecasts research and development expenses of about 1.2 billion euros and selling, general and administrative costs of about 400 million euros.
- The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook and now expects net sales of between 43 billion euros and 45 billion euros, with a gross margin of 54% to 56%, up from its previous guidance.
- ASML said Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) Foundry has begun high-volume manufacturing of a subset of Intel Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake. The companies highlighted further progress in bringing High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet, or High NA EUV, lithography into production and preparing the technology for broader adoption.
- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) expanded its strategic partnership with ASML, increasing collaboration around High Numerical Aperture Extreme Ultraviolet, or High NA EUV, lithography and other advanced manufacturing technologies.
- ASML disclosed it is working with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) to develop larger EUV photomasks aimed at boosting factory productivity and lowering the cost of producing advanced chips.
Why ASML Is Lagging XLK in Monday’s Tech Selloff
ASML is underperforming the Technology sector today, falling 6.01% versus XLK down 1.64%, a gap of about 4.37 percentage points. That relative weakness matters because Technology ranks 11 out of 11 sectors (worst performer), so ASML is lagging even within the day’s weakest pocket of the market.
Zooming out, Technology is also in a mild downtrend on a multi-week basis, down 3.01% over the past 30 days and down 0.99% over the past 90 days. In that backdrop, ASML’s pullback looks less like an isolated chart event and more like part of a broader cooling phase for tech leadership.
ASML Earnings Outlook: EPS and Revenue Estimates, Premium P/E
- EPS Estimate: $12.59 (Up from $6.42 YoY)
- Revenue Estimate: $13.18 Billion (Up from $8.79 Billion YoY)
- Valuation: P/E of 57.5x (Indicates premium valuation relative to peers)
Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $2393.60. Recent analyst moves include:
Recent analyst moves include:
- JP Morgan: Overweight (Raises Target to $2400.00) (July 16)
- Wells Fargo: Overweight (Raises Target to $2500.00) (July 16)
- RBC Capital: Outperform (Raises Target to $2100.00) (July 16)
ASML vs LRCX, AMAT, KLAC, TER: 1-Year Return Comparison
This peer comparison is based on a curated set of stocks selected for this analysis: Lam Research Corp (LRCX), Applied Materials Inc (AMAT), KLA Corporation (KLAC), Teradyne, Inc. (TER), and Qnity Electronics, Inc. (Q). Over the past year, ASML Holding NV gained 83.37%, trailing the peer-group average return of 113.61% by 30.24 percentage points. On an individual basis, it finished ahead of or tied with two peers but trailed three: Teradyne, Inc. (193.72%), Applied Materials Inc (150.13%), and Lam Research Corp (131.16%).
Within the group, Teradyne, Inc. was the strongest performer at +193.72%, while Qnity Electronics, Inc. was the weakest at +21.66%. The remaining peers were mixed, with KLA Corporation up 71.39%, Lam Research Corp up 131.16%, and Applied Materials Inc up 150.13%.
Top ASML ETF Exposure: EZU, FEZ, and PIEQ Weightings
- iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (BATS:EZU): 8.31% Weight
- State Street SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF (NYSE:FEZ): 8.78% Weight
- Principal International Equity ETF (NASDAQ:PIEQ): 6.24% Weight
Significance: Because ASML carries such a heavy weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.
ASML Stock Today: Shares Slide in Regular Session Monday
ASML Stock Price Activity: ASML Holding shares were down 6.07% at $1,595.26 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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