Oppenheimer Increases Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target to $55.00

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its target price boosted by Oppenheimer from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $42.14.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 0.1 %

VECO stock opened at $46.71 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.02. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $23.63 and a 12 month high of $48.48. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.80 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 3.05 and a quick ratio of 2.02.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a negative net margin of 2.51% and a positive return on equity of 11.97%. The firm had revenue of $174.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.00 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $1,145,700.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,671,325.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Dennis Thomas St sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 51,861 shares in the company, valued at $1,956,196.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $1,145,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,671,325.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,405,055 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VECO. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1,311.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter valued at $203,000. 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.