Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target Raised to $35.00 at Barclays

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $33.00 to $35.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $38.43.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock opened at $39.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -60.45 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.34 and its 200 day moving average is $31.91. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $19.05 and a one year high of $40.30.

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

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,810 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.7% during the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 16,723 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.