Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 22,186 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 4.4%, acquiring an additional 22,186 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 530,956 shares worth approximately $10.66 million.
• Veeco Instruments reported $0.36 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.22, despite a 5.6% year-over-year revenue decline to $166.10 million.
• Institutional investors hold 98.46% of Veeco Instruments' shares, indicating significant confidence from large investors in the semiconductor company's prospects.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 530,956 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,186 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.92% of Veeco Instruments worth $10,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 396.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 213.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 2,139 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 33.6% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 75.9% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,672 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $225,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of VECO opened at $25.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 1.12. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $38.56. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $21.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.00. The company has a current ratio of 5.10, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.14. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 7.38% and a net margin of 8.65%.The firm had revenue of $166.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark decreased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

Veeco Instruments Company 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.

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