Analysts Set Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target at $32.43

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.43.

VECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $21.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.24. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $20.05 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.30.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions 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 stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. 272 Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. KBC Group NV boosted 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 purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 721.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,341 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.