Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 21,968 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has reduced its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. by 2.8% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 1.31% of the company valued at $15.2 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Versant Capital Management Inc. and Signaturefd LLC, have significantly increased their holdings in Veeco Instruments, indicating ongoing interest despite Baillie Gifford's sell-off.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Veeco's stock, with the current consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $30.43, although some firms have recently lowered their expectations.

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 756,312 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 21,968 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 1.31% of Veeco Instruments worth $15,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth about $14,373,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 531,821 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 278.2% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 432,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,598,000 after acquiring an additional 318,345 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 349,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,374,000 after acquiring an additional 194,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 3,668.8% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 199,067 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $5,335,000 after acquiring an additional 193,785 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $225,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VECO traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.12. 279,618 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 712,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.44 and a quick ratio of 3.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.41. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.92 and a 52 week high of $41.64. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 1.10.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.