Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives $32.43 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.43.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock traded down $0.34 on Thursday, reaching $17.61. 823,557 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 729,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day moving average is $25.49. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $16.92 and a one year high of $49.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VECO. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,391 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 92,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 396.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

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.