Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Weak Earnings

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $23.00 and last traded at $23.37, with a volume of 15704 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.68.

The semiconductor company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 10.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Benchmark cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were 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 owns 75,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,076,173.46. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,477,260 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $200,391,000 after buying an additional 110,825 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,792,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $74,848,000 after buying an additional 152,201 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,748,172 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $73,651,000 after purchasing an additional 531,821 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,242,750 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $60,107,000 after acquiring an additional 78,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,216,351 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $73,428,000 after buying an additional 371,221 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $26.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 1.13.

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.