Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.00.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total transaction of $71,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,297,671.14. The trade was a 3.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,676,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,640,649 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $87,485,000 after buying an additional 883,815 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $14,373,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,216,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,428,000 after acquiring an additional 371,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 37.3% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,175,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,953,000 after acquiring an additional 319,451 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $24.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 2.41. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $23.24 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.54.

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

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.