Barclays Lowers Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target to $25.00

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its target price lowered by Barclays from $30.00 to $25.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $24.27 on Thursday. 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 has a one year low of $23.00 and a one year high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $26.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.08.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. Analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.