Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $18.72 and last traded at $18.91, with a volume of 252732 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.78.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % 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 the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $44,314,000 after acquiring an additional 22,850 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 493,039 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,213,000 after purchasing an additional 64,824 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $633,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 163,066 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,370,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.