Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $24.62 and last traded at $24.59, with a volume of 49477 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup raised Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.71.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.37 and a 200-day moving average of $31.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.54 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $184.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.57 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total transaction of $69,075.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,076,173.46. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 165.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 370,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,288,000 after buying an additional 230,971 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,314,000 after acquiring an additional 22,850 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,551 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 27,476 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 175,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 52,328 shares during the period. Finally, PDT Partners LLC bought a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,109,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by 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.