Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $6.56 Million Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Veeco Instruments by 25.9%, owning 326,808 shares worth approximately $6.56 million after selling 114,009 shares in the first quarter.
• While Goldman Sachs decreased its holdings, other investors like Versant Capital Management increased their position by 396.2% during the same period, demonstrating varied investor sentiment towards Veeco.
• Veeco Instruments reported a quarterly revenue of $166.10 million, exceeding analysts' expectations, although it faced a 5.6% decrease in revenue compared to the same period last year.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 326,808 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 114,009 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.54% of Veeco Instruments worth $6,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VECO. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 53.6% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 47,710 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $958,000 after buying an additional 16,643 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 15.9% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,256 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 8.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 176,679 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,548,000 after buying an additional 13,613 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 17.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 192,818 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,872,000 after buying an additional 27,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Veeco Instruments during the first quarter valued at about $618,000. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VECO traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $28.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,868. The company has a current ratio of 5.10, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82 and a beta of 1.23. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a one year low of $16.92 and a one year high of $34.34.

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

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 4,046 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total transaction of $105,196.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 86,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,239,484. This trade represents a 4.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $625,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 470,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,766,775. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.