Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.57.

A number of research firms have weighed in on VECO. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Benchmark raised their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of VECO opened at $37.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $18.35 and a 12 month high of $37.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of -57.68 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.78.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $173.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a negative net margin of 4.56% and a positive return on equity of 11.10%. Equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $170,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 67,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,294,179.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $854,295.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 545,091 shares in the company, valued at $19,241,712.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $170,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,179.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,081 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 20,754 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 485,924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 25.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 202.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,122 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $755,000 after buying an additional 18,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.