Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $22.60 and last traded at $22.73, with a volume of 77716 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VECO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 owns 72,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 14.8% during the 3rd 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. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. 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.