Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Receives $28.17 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.1667.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $31.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 4.75 and a quick ratio of 3.20. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $16.92 and a one year high of $35.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 53.36 and a beta of 1.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $1,581,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,107,849.66. This represents a 10.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,503 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,986 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.