Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target Lowered to $22.00 at Barclays

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Barclays from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 13.64% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Benchmark cut their target price 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.36. 546,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,905. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.12. Veeco Instruments has a 1 year low of $16.92 and a 1 year high of $49.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $20.55 and its 200 day moving average is $25.14.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value 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 approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 75.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,672 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 342.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,807 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Veeco Instruments

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.