Keep hope alive.
UPDATE 1-Veeco jumps 11 pct as Q4 orders top expectations
(updates with analyst comment, midday prices)
LOS ANGELES, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. <VECO.O> gained 15 percent on Wednesday after the company said its fourth quarter orders topped expectations.
Late on Tuesday the company said in a statement its fourth quarter orders were about $184 million, exceeding its prior forecast of $150 million. US Bancorp Piper Jaffray's Gregory Konezny reiterated his strong buy rating on the stock and price target of $75.
The stock of Veeco Instruments, which makes equipment for data storage, optical telecommunications and the semiconductor industries, rose $8-1/4 to $55, after trading as high as $60-1/4 earlier. Veeco shares have fallen from an all-time high in March of $122-1/4 to trade below $50 for most of the past two months.
"Their orders came out well above expectations," said Mehdi Hosseini, associate research analyst at Wit Soundview, which has a strong buy recommendation on the stock.
He said Chairman and Chief Executive Edward Braun also reiterated at the Needham Growth Conference in New York that the company was keeping its forward looking guidance for 2001.
Veeco's announcement of better-than-expected orders comes amid negative recent sentiment in the markets Veeco serves, he added.
"So when a company like Veeco says its doing better in terms of bookings, it excites people," Hosseini said. "The stock was beaten down so this news is a catalyst for people to jump back in."
The company also assured that the market for its data storage products appeared to have stabilized, and said manufacturing problems that had plagued it in the third quarter had been resolved, Hosseini said.
The Plainview, N.Y.-based company said its optical telecommunications were about 45 percent of total orders. |
