Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Trading 5.1% Higher

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) rose 5.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $37.48 and last traded at $37.46. Approximately 800,263 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 58% from the average daily volume of 507,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.63.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VECO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.57.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 3.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.64.

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

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $170,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,179.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.07, for a total value of $902,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,039,570.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $170,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,294,179.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,201 shares of company stock worth $1,926,895. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,690,121 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $188,059,000 after buying an additional 450,685 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,569,885 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,129,000 after buying an additional 310,390 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 168,501 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,737,000 after buying an additional 9,090 shares during the period. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,084,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 435,515 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,242,000 after buying an additional 44,714 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.