Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $16.92 and last traded at $17.35, with a volume of 1219815 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $17.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VECO shares. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 0.8 %

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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 1.12.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,321 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,314,000 after buying an additional 22,850 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 493,039 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,213,000 after buying an additional 64,824 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 1.5% in the 4th 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. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 163,066 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,370,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by 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.