Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VECO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.71.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total value of $71,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,297,671.14. This represents a 3.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 130.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 1,040 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.