Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $24.62 and last traded at $24.59, with a volume of 49477 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Benchmark reduced their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.71.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 1.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.37 and its 200 day moving average is $31.38. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.15.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. The firm had revenue of $184.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $180.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total transaction of $69,075.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,076,173.46. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 165.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 370,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,288,000 after purchasing an additional 230,971 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,314,000 after buying an additional 22,850 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 75,551 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 27,476 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 42.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 175,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,800,000 after buying an additional 52,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,109,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently 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.