Brokerages Set Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Target Price at $32.43

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.43.

A number of analysts have commented on VECO shares. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective 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, Citigroup cut their target price 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $1,780,455.42. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the 1st 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 period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $17.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 1.12. Veeco Instruments has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $49.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.