272 Capital LP Acquires 13,888 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

272 Capital LP boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 912.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,410 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,888 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP's holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth $29,676,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth about $14,373,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,748,172 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $73,651,000 after purchasing an additional 531,821 shares during the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 278.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 432,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $11,598,000 after purchasing an additional 318,345 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,792,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $74,848,000 after buying an additional 152,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 1.2 %

Veeco Instruments stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.19. The stock had a trading volume of 471,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,651. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $19.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.13. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.92 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VECO. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.00.

Veeco Instruments 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.