Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.14.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ VECO opened at $26.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58 and a beta of 1.17. Veeco Instruments has a 1-year low of $26.23 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.21.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $184.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.57 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $81,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,696,608.46. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $225,850. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,131,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $250,800,000 after purchasing an additional 391,346 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 50.3% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,640,649 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,485,000 after acquiring an additional 883,815 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,216,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $73,428,000 after buying an additional 371,221 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,091,995 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,308,000 after purchasing an additional 30,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 119.3% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,458,288 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,117,000 after purchasing an additional 793,429 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and supports semiconductor and thin film process equipment primarily to make electronic devices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, China, Rest of the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers laser annealing, ion beam deposition and etch, metal organic chemical vapor deposition, single wafer wet processing and surface preparation, molecular beam epitaxy, advanced packaging lithography, atomic layer deposition, and other deposition systems.