Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Issues Earnings Results

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14), Zacks reports. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

NASDAQ VECO traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.65. The company had a trading volume of 877,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,269. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52 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 twelve month low of $23.00 and a twelve month high of $49.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VECO shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Benchmark decreased 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.