Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Hits New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $20.56 and last traded at $20.98, with a volume of 36099 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VECO. Citigroup dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark reduced 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, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.24.

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Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. KBC Group NV increased 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 worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,864 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 721.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,341 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

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.