Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target Cut to $29.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its price target cut by Needham & Company LLC from $35.00 to $29.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $24.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Veeco Instruments has a 12-month low of $23.00 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.08.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its 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 net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 130.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

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.