Benchmark Has Lowered Expectations for Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock Price

Key Points

• Benchmark has lowered its price target for Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00, still maintaining a "buy" rating for the stock with a suggested upside of 40.42% from the previous close.
• Other analysts like Barclays and Goldman Sachs have also reduced their price targets, with Barclays setting it at $21.00 and Goldman Sachs at $20.00, indicating a cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the adjustments in price targets, Veeco reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, achieving $0.36 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.22, with revenue of $166.10 million.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) had its target price lowered by Benchmark from $31.00 to $28.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 0.2%

VECO traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $23.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 400,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 736,563. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.06. Veeco Instruments has a twelve month low of $16.92 and a twelve month high of $38.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 5.10 and a quick ratio of 3.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.20 and a beta of 1.12.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.14. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The firm had revenue of $166.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Veeco Instruments's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $225,705.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VECO. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 396.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 213.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 49,728.6% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481 shares in the last quarter. 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.