Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $55.00 price objective on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Veeco Instruments from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $45.57.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 1.8 %

VECO opened at $36.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 3.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.45. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $23.63 and a one year high of $49.25. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -81.06 and a beta of 1.22.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $175.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.03 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis Thomas St sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total value of $150,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,956,196.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.46, for a total transaction of $121,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,594,444.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Thomas St sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.72, for a total transaction of $150,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,956,196.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $380,505. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 237.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter valued at $99,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 733.3% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. 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.