Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Gap Down to $31.25

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $31.25, but opened at $30.33. Veeco Instruments shares last traded at $30.39, with a volume of 11,961 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VECO. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Northland Securities reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.57.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.52 and its 200-day moving average is $38.58.

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

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. grew its position 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 period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 18,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 2.2% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,734,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.