Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Director Mary Jane Raymond Sells 2,000 Shares of Company Stock

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Director Mary Jane Raymond sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $80,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,967 shares in the company, valued at $958,680. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO stock opened at $39.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.95. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $86.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 98.90 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $209.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.33 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 3.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Northland Securities raised Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 210.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 73,163 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,477,000 after purchasing an additional 49,631 shares during the last quarter. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter worth approximately $3,228,000. Bridge City Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,458,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 235.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 109,303 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,285,000 after purchasing an additional 76,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth $23,301,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments designs and manufactures process equipment used to make semiconductors and other advanced materials. Its systems support thin-film deposition, etching, lithography and related manufacturing processes. The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), ion beam and laser-processing systems. These tools serve applications in compound semiconductors, advanced packaging, data storage and scientific research. Veeco serves customers around the world through its sales and service operations.