Needham & Company LLC Boosts Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target to $30.00

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC raised its price target for Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.39% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the upgrade from Needham, other firms like Barclays and Goldman Sachs have lowered their price targets, reflecting a mixed sentiment about the stock's future performance.
• Veeco Instruments recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.36 per share, exceeding expectations, though revenue declined 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $29.00 to $30.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective points to a potential upside of 31.39% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on VECO. Barclays dropped 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.14.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

VECO traded up $2.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.83. 1,035,671 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,147. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $20.75 and its 200 day moving average is $21.19. Veeco Instruments has a 52 week low of $16.92 and a 52 week high of $38.88. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 4.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $166.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.31 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.99%. Veeco Instruments's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $225,705.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,707. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 3.2% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,926 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,391 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,614 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 55,039 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 33.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently 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.

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