Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.1667.

A number of research firms recently commented on VECO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $1,581,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,107,849.66. This represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,675,000. Old West Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 67,632 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 38,114 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth $679,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,324,590 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $40,307,000 after purchasing an additional 325,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 0.6%

VECO stock opened at $31.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Veeco Instruments has a twelve month low of $16.92 and a twelve month high of $35.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.32 and a beta of 1.17.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.