Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $20.56 and last traded at $20.98, with a volume of 36099 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VECO. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark cut 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. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.64.

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 the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

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

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in 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 period. 272 Capital LP acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% in 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 period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 3,213.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 4,659 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently 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.