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

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.14.

A number of analysts recently commented on VECO shares. Benchmark decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of VECO opened at $27.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55 and a beta of 1.15. Veeco Instruments has a 52-week low of $25.52 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%. The business had revenue of $184.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. Veeco Instruments’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total value of $71,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,297,671.14. The trade was a 3.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 598,014 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,933,000 after buying an additional 31,482 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,219,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 119.3% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,458,288 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,117,000 after purchasing an additional 793,429 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $12,288,000 after acquiring an additional 230,971 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the second quarter worth approximately $2,710,000. 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.