Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives $28.17 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.1667.

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

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $30.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 52.46 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.82. Veeco Instruments has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $35.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a current ratio of 4.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $1,581,000.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.9% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,396,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,023,000 after buying an additional 157,978 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,215,031 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $65,329,000 after buying an additional 284,716 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,481,803 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $75,521,000 after buying an additional 26,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,971,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.