Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock Moved Down to “Buy” by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VECO. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Northland Securities upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.00.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 11.8%

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $37.19 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $26.00 and a 12 month high of $86.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 92.97 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.89.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.07). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 3.81%. The business had revenue of $209.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total transaction of $1,786,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,512,342.10. The trade was a 33.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,302.60. This trade represents a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VECO. 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 acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter worth $3,228,000. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 235.4% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 109,303 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,285,000 after buying an additional 76,710 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,374,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,391,000 after buying an additional 68,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth $23,301,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.