Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $16.92 and last traded at $17.35, with a volume of 1219815 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on VECO shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.46.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VECO. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.