The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target to $39.00

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $35.00 to $39.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price target indicates a potential upside of 2.44% from the stock's current price.

VECO has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.00.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

NASDAQ:VECO traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $38.07. 613,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 529,129. Veeco Instruments has a 1-year low of $20.42 and a 1-year high of $40.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of -59.02 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $35.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.91.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $173.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.10%. Research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $854,295.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 545,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,241,712.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $170,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,179.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $854,295.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 545,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,241,712.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 292,848 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,299,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter worth about $2,720,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 13.7% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,592 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.