Oppenheimer Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO)

Oppenheimer reissued their outperform rating on shares of Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has a $35.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $40.00.

VECO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ VECO opened at $24.38 on Friday. Veeco Instruments has a 52 week low of $23.24 and a 52 week high of $49.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total transaction of $69,075.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,076,173.46. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 116.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.