Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock Rating Lowered by Northland Securities

Key Points

• Northland Securities downgraded Veeco Instruments from an "outperform" to a "market perform" rating, setting a price target of $30.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.79% from the current stock price.
• Veeco Instruments' stock has experienced a 52-week range between $16.92 and $34.45, with an average target price of $27.71 according to analysts.
• In recent insider trading, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares for $800,000, reflecting a 4.63% decrease in his ownership stake.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Northland Securities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $30.00 price objective on the semiconductor company's stock. Northland Securities' target price points to a potential downside of 2.79% from the company's current price.

VECO has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC lowered Veeco Instruments from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.71.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock opened at $30.86 on Tuesday. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $16.92 and a one year high of $34.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.55 and its 200-day moving average is $21.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 5.10 and a quick ratio of 3.43.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $151.31 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Veeco Instruments's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 514,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,465,376. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 4,046 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total transaction of $105,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 86,134 shares in the company, valued at $2,239,484. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,911 shares of company stock worth $1,781,550. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 213.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 33.6% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 49,728.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 3,481 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is 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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