Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a $42.00 target price on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on VECO. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup cut Veeco Instruments from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.57.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VECO traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.48. The company had a trading volume of 802,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 631,738. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of -81.06 and a beta of 1.22. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $23.63 and a one year high of $49.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 12.24%. The company had revenue of $175.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.39, for a total value of $108,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $94,026.13. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $150,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,861 shares in the company, valued at $1,956,196.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.39, for a total value of $108,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,167 shares in the company, valued at $94,026.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $380,505 over the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,752 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,216 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $875,000. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,599,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

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.