Brokerages Set Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Target Price at $28.17

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.1667.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $34.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.24 and a beta of 1.11. Veeco Instruments has a twelve month low of $16.92 and a twelve month high of $37.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.71. The company has a current ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $1,581,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares in the company, valued at $13,107,849.66. This represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $3,675,000. Old West Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 129.1% during the third quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 67,632 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 38,114 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 32.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,324,590 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,307,000 after purchasing an additional 325,357 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 479,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $14,588,000 after purchasing an additional 107,527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

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.