Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.38-0.48 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.43. The company issued revenue guidance of $165-185 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $175.22 million.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of VECO remained flat at $37.49 during midday trading on Tuesday. 1,361,855 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 523,076. Veeco Instruments has a 1-year low of $18.35 and a 1-year high of $38.92. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.21 and its 200 day moving average is $31.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -58.69 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Veeco Instruments from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Three research 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 stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $36.57.

Insider Activity

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

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.