Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VECO. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.17.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $32.47 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $16.92 and a fifty-two week high of $35.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 55.03 and a beta of 1.17.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 464,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,865,376. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth about $48,342,000. SG Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,421,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 262.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,068,950 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $21,721,000 after acquiring an additional 773,763 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 920.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 676,502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $20,586,000 after purchasing an additional 610,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 37.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,820,357 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,026,000 after purchasing an additional 495,767 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

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.