Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Veeco Instruments Inc. has been rated as a Moderate Buy by six research firms, with an average target price of $27.33 for the next year.
• In the most recent earnings report, Veeco Instruments exceeded analysts' expectations by posting earnings of $0.36 per share compared to the estimated $0.22, although revenue decreased by 5.6% year-over-year.
• Insider selling was noted, with SVP Adrian Devasahayam selling 11,010 shares, reducing their ownership by about 10.98%.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.3333.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VECO shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying 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 approximately $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 75.6% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 213.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 2,139 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased 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 buying an additional 847 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO traded up $1.25 on Wednesday, hitting $25.25. 781,113 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 897,977. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $38.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.07. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.14. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $166.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Veeco Instruments's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.