Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.57.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Veeco Instruments stock traded down $2.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $31.48. The stock had a trading volume of 576,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,894. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.32. Veeco Instruments has a 1-year low of $23.63 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.96 and a beta of 1.16.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $175.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total value of $81,575.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,642 shares in the company, valued at $2,696,608.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of VECO. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 237.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter valued at about $99,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 733.3% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $203,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.