Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $44.63 and last traded at $45.3980, with a volume of 164785 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VECO shares. Citigroup raised their target price on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.17.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 4.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.07 and a beta of 1.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $1,581,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,107,849.66. The trade was a 10.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 125.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,461 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth about $77,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 16,961.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,562 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 (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.