Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target Cut to $55.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its price objective lowered by Citigroup from $63.00 to $55.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VECO. Weiss Ratings cut Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 11.8%

Shares of VECO stock traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,104,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,822. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.97 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.93. Veeco Instruments has a 52-week low of $26.00 and a 52-week high of $86.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.89.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $209.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.33 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total transaction of $1,786,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,342.10. This trade represents a 33.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total transaction of $10,836,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,187,302.60. This trade represents a 54.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the second quarter valued at about $728,127,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth about $156,557,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $134,434,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,374,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $80,391,000 after purchasing an additional 68,780 shares during the period. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,836,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic devices. Its systems help customers deposit, etch, pattern, anneal and otherwise process thin films and materials at the wafer level.

The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems, molecular beam epitaxy equipment, ion beam etch and deposition systems, laser annealing systems, and related process-control and automation technologies.