Citigroup Lowers Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Price Target to $30.00

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $33.00 to $30.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Benchmark decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

NASDAQ VECO opened at $24.27 on Thursday. Veeco Instruments has a 1 year low of $23.00 and a 1 year high of $49.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. On average, research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total transaction of $69,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,076,173.46. This trade represents 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.