Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Raises Stock Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 61.9%, now owning 175,287 shares valued at approximately $3.52 million.
• Veeco Instruments reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $0.36, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.22, despite a 5.6% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Analysts' price targets for Veeco Instruments has been revised downwards by some, with the average target now at $27.33 following recent assessments.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 61.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,287 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,001 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned 0.30% of Veeco Instruments worth $3,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter worth $37,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted 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 valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 2,139 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 33.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 75.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,672 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VECO. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of VECO stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.51. The stock had a trading volume of 441,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,275. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.23. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $34.34.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $166.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.