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

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $32.43.

VECO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 165.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 370,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,288,000 after buying an additional 230,971 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,314,000 after buying an additional 22,850 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 175,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,800,000 after buying an additional 52,328 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,109,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $633,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 3.7 %

VECO opened at $23.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $26.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 1.13. Veeco Instruments has a 52 week low of $23.00 and a 52 week high of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. Analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

About Veeco Instruments

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.