MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,889 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 68,747 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 6,145 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 4.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 341,069 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,849,000 after acquiring an additional 13,182 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 75.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter worth about $351,000. Finally, Riverwater Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% during the first quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 92,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,829,707. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.
Veeco Instruments Stock Performance
VECO traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $20.63. 623,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 737,862. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.92 and a 12-month high of $45.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.50 and a 200-day moving average of $21.84. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 1.10.
Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.99%. The business had revenue of $167.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have recently weighed in on VECO shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.43.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Veeco Instruments
About Veeco Instruments
(
Free Report)
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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