Friday was a fine day to hold the stock of ASML Holding (ASML +4.17%), the Netherlands-based company that specializes in photolithography (essentially, printing circuits onto a microprocessor). A highly bullish analysis of a top name in the chip sector sparked a sympathy rally in related stocks, pushing ASML's equity up by over 4%.
Supplier to the stars
That analysis was published by the research firm Lynx Equity Strategies. The firm's K.C. Rajkumar waxed bullish on two high-profile memory chipmakers, Micron Technology and Sandisk. Lynx continues to rate them as clear buys with anticipated upside of 33% and 49%, respectively.
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This comes after an intense period of volatility in the two stocks, during which their prices swung more on emotion and hype than on fundamentals. Since then, those prices have come down, and the prospects for both remain solid as the world scales up with more computing power driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI).
And if Micron, Sandisk, and other chipmakers are ramping up to meet this elevated demand, ASML is sure to benefit. The lithography systems it sells are indispensable for many clients, and that will only be exacerbated by the Great Build-Out.
NASDAQ: ASML
Key Data Points
Still underrated
ASML didn't come close to the nearly 12% pop of Sandisk stock after investors disseminated the Lynx report. Its gain was also under Micron's 6% rise.
This, however, makes the company's stock that much more attractive, as it's a somewhat under-the-radar play on current trends. It's feeling like an ideal pick-and-shovel investment on the AI revolution these days, and a solid candidate for inclusion in any stock portfolio.
