Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Upgraded to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Benchmark dropped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.14.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 0.4 %

VECO traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $27.79. The company had a trading volume of 337,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,312. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.17. Veeco Instruments has a 12-month low of $25.52 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76 and a beta of 1.15.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $184.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.04, for a total value of $72,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,472,523.68. The trade was a 2.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $225,850 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 130.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 237.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 733.3% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.