Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock Price

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) had its price objective reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $63.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the semiconductor company’s stock. Citigroup‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 47.89% from the stock’s current price.

VECO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Northland Securities raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.00.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of VECO traded up $3.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.19. 1,104,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,093,128. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.93. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 92.97 and a beta of 1.41. Veeco Instruments has a 52-week low of $26.00 and a 52-week high of $86.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $45.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.86.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.07). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $209.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $213.33 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total transaction of $1,786,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 68,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,342.10. The trade was a 33.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total value of $10,836,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 169,570 shares in the company, valued at $9,187,302.60. The trade was a 54.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the second quarter valued at $728,127,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth about $156,557,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth about $134,434,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,374,292 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $80,391,000 after acquiring an additional 68,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth about $65,836,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic devices. Its systems help customers deposit, etch, pattern, anneal and otherwise process thin films and materials at the wafer level.

The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems, molecular beam epitaxy equipment, ion beam etch and deposition systems, laser annealing systems, and related process-control and automation technologies.