Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock Price Up 4.6% – Should You Buy?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s stock price rose 4.6% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $29.36 and last traded at $29.31. Approximately 82,927 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 651,931 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VECO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.14.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $28.66 and a 200 day moving average of $35.27. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44 and a beta of 1.15.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. The firm had revenue of $184.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.67, for a total value of $71,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,297,671.14. This trade represents a 3.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 272 Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 733.3% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 116.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Veeco Instruments

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.