Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives $45.57 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.57.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.46, for a total transaction of $121,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,594,444.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 0.5% in the second quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 67,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 18,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 5.5 %

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $29.67 on Wednesday. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $23.63 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -65.93 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.73.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The firm had revenue of $175.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.