Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Trading Down 2.9% - Here's Why

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) were down 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $30.47 and last traded at $30.56. Approximately 295,730 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 660,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $45.57.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $33.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.10 and a beta of 1.16.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $175.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $81,575.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,696,608.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 237.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 733.3% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at $99,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the second quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth about $210,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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