Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223,733 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 24,577 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.39% of Veeco Instruments worth $4,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 342.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,807 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, reaching $20.23. 659,410 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,526. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.92 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.85. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 4.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 1.11.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $167.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 8.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $225,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

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.