John P. Kiernan Sells 2,500 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $23.65 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.00 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VECO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 116.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.