Veeco Instruments jumps on Stifel bump to "buy"

Veeco Instruments

03/03/2020 15:24

** Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc  VECO.O  rose >16% early
Tues after Stifel promotion to "buy" from "hold," broker also
raised PT by $4 to $18
    ** The semiconductor equipment co's stock last up 10.3% at
$14.84, the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P 1500
Semiconductor & Semiconductor Equipment index  .SPCOMSE 
    ** Lead Stifel analyst Patrick Ho cites VECO's limited
supply chain exposure to China, believes impact of coronavirus
on co's revenue has been "minimized"
    ** Ho also expresses confidence in VECO's turnaround
strategy, sees buying opportunity after recent market pullback
    ** On Feb 13, VECO reported Q4 adj eps of 11 cents, beating
consensus estimate of 8 cents; Co has surprised expectations to
the upside in 7 of 8 most recent qtrs, per Refinitiv data
    ** 3 of 4 analysts covering VECO now rate shares "buy" or
stronger, with 1 recommending "hold"; median PT $19
    ** Over the last 12 months, VECO has advanced ~31%,
outperforming the SPCOMSE's ~27% gain over the same period

 (Reporting by Stephen Culp)
 ((stephen.culp@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6076;))