Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Hits New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $23.00 and last traded at $23.37, with a volume of 15704 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.68.

Specifically, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on VECO. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.00.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. 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.