Is ASML Stock a Top Buy Right Now?
ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML), the dominant company in ultraviolet lithography equipment used in manufacturing semiconductors, has endured numerous shocks in recent years. The pandemic has caused long-lasting ripples in global supply and demand for chips, affecting ASML customers' orders for lithography equipment. ASML also ran up against supply constraints of its own, and has been building more capacity to crank out more machines to chip manufacturing customers.
The biggest risk of all, though, has been geopolitical in nature -- a symptom of the U.S.-China battle for computing power supremacy that became apparent during the "trade war" that started in 2018. The U.S. and Netherlands (where ASML is based) have imposed bans on the sale of ASML's most advanced lithography equipment, EUV (extreme ultraviolet), since 2019. New restrictions on its also very advanced but previous-gen DUV (deep ultraviolet) machines are also going into effect in 2024.
The geopolitical intrigue isn't abating, and ASML stock has fallen more than 20% since July 2023. So, is ASML a "buy the dip" candidate?
Source Fool.com
