Analysts Set Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Target Price at $40.71

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.14.

VECO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 2.0 %

VECO stock opened at $46.76 on Friday. Veeco Instruments has a fifty-two week low of $23.63 and a fifty-two week high of $48.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $40.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.81. The company has a current ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $174.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a positive return on equity of 11.97% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, Director Dennis Thomas St sold 4,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total value of $150,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 51,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,956,196.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $1,145,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,091 shares in the company, valued at $19,671,325.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Thomas St sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total transaction of $150,880.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 51,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,956,196.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,405,055. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.9% in the first quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 3.1% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 18,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,216 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. 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.