{"id":64879,"date":"2026-07-16T05:38:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bofa-hikes-asml-target-to-2845-as-oil-prices-retreat-amid-us-iran-tensions\/64879\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T05:38:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:38:13","slug":"bofa-hikes-asml-target-to-2845-as-oil-prices-retreat-amid-us-iran-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/bofa-hikes-asml-target-to-2845-as-oil-prices-retreat-amid-us-iran-tensions\/64879\/","title":{"rendered":"BofA Hikes ASML Target to $2,845 as Oil Prices Retreat Amid US-Iran Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>BofA Global Research<\/strong> significantly raised its price objective for <strong>ASML Holding N.V. (<a href=\"\/stock\/ASML\">ASML<\/a>)<\/strong> to <strong>$2,845<\/strong> from $2,345, citing a robust 2026 outlook driven by AI demand.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Brent Crude<\/strong> futures fell <strong>1% to $84.07\/bbl<\/strong> as traders engaged in profit-taking while weighing the risks of a potential supply disruption in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>ASML<\/strong> upgraded its full-year <strong>2026 revenue guidance<\/strong> to a range of <strong>\u20ac43 billion to \u20ac45 billion<\/strong>, well above previous estimates of \u20ac36 billion to \u20ac40 billion.<\/li>\n<li>Geopolitical tensions remain high as the <strong>U.S. military<\/strong> launched strikes on Iranian coastal defenses following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire.<\/li>\n<li>Congressional leadership faces a busy week with the <strong>House GOP<\/strong> eyeing a <strong>Continuing Resolution (CR)<\/strong> vote and Democrats navigating internal splits over <strong>Israel<\/strong> policy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tech Sector: ASML Guidance Triggers Analyst Upgrades<\/h2>\n<p><strong>BofA Global Research<\/strong> has aggressively raised its price target for <strong>ASML Holding N.V. (<a href=\"\/stock\/ASML\">ASML<\/a>)<\/strong> to <strong>$2,845<\/strong>, reflecting a more optimistic valuation of the company\u2019s lithography dominance. The upgrade follows ASML&#39;s blockbuster second-quarter results, where the company reported <strong>\u20ac9.33 billion in revenue<\/strong>, beating consensus estimates of \u20ac8.80 billion. Analysts noted that the &quot;earnings story has been pulled forward,&quot; with AI-driven demand for advanced logic and memory chips accelerating faster than previously modeled.<\/p>\n<p>The Dutch semiconductor giant now expects <strong>2026 gross margins<\/strong> to reach <strong>54% to 56%<\/strong>, up from prior guidance of 51% to 53%. This upward revision is supported by a planned <strong>30% capacity expansion<\/strong> for EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) systems by 2027 to meet the needs of major clients like <strong>Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>)<\/strong>, <strong>TSMC (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSM\">TSM<\/a>)<\/strong>, and <strong>Samsung<\/strong>. Despite the bullish outlook, some analysts warn that the stock is currently trading at a significant premium, with a <strong>P\/E ratio<\/strong> approaching 56x.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy Markets: Oil Prices Ease Despite Conflict Risks<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Brent Crude<\/strong> futures retreated <strong>1% to $84.07 per barrel<\/strong> on Thursday as the market paused following a four-day rally. While prices remain near one-month highs, traders are balancing the immediate threat of a <strong>US-Iran conflict<\/strong> against technical profit-taking. The <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, which handles approximately <strong>20% of global oil and gas trade<\/strong>, remains the primary focus after the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports.<\/p>\n<p>The military escalation has added a substantial <strong>geopolitical risk premium<\/strong> to energy prices, which had spiked as high as <strong>$87.08<\/strong> earlier in the week. Analysts at <strong>Saxo Bank<\/strong> noted that the market has shifted into <em>backwardation<\/em>, a structure where prompt contracts trade at a premium to later ones, signaling tight near-term supplies. If hostilities continue to disrupt tanker traffic, some market observers suggest Brent could test the <strong>$90 to $100<\/strong> range in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<h2>Washington Outlook: Budget Battles and Foreign Policy Splits<\/h2>\n<p>In Washington, <strong>Punchbowl News<\/strong> reports that the <strong>House GOP<\/strong> is preparing for a critical <strong>Continuing Resolution (CR)<\/strong> vote next week to avoid a government shutdown. The legislative push comes amid a &quot;nightmare&quot; scenario for Senate Republicans, who are reportedly struggling with former President <strong>Trump\u2019s<\/strong> continued focus on the 2020 election results.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, <strong>House Democrats<\/strong> are facing a widening internal split regarding <strong>Israel<\/strong>. Recent floor votes saw over a dozen Democrats shift their support toward amendments that would restrict aid, a move that highlights growing friction between the party&#39;s base and its leadership. On the campaign front, primary challengers are reportedly out-raising some veteran Democrats, adding further pressure to the party&#39;s 2026 midterm strategy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways BofA Global Research significantly raised its price objective for ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) to $2,845 from $2,345, citing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[1947,2910,4181,4462,5027,5030,10757,17735],"class_list":["post-64879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-oil","tag-asml","tag-bofa","tag-brent-crude","tag-semiconductors","tag-energy","tag-cr","tag-us-iran-conflict"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}