Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Hits New 52-Week High at $38.40

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.40 and last traded at $38.40, with a volume of 36836 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $37.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of -59.02 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.91.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $173.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a positive return on equity of 11.10% and a negative net margin of 4.56%. As a group, research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $854,295.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 545,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,241,712.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $170,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at $2,294,179.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $854,295.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 545,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,241,712.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VECO. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 292,848 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,299,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at $2,720,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter worth $203,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 47.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 21,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 6,940 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 14,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently 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.