Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Veeco Instruments by 2.0%, owning 649,286 shares worth approximately $13 million after selling 13,141 shares in the first quarter.
• Veeco Instruments reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.36, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.22, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 5.6%.
• Multiple analysts have lowered their target price for Veeco, with the average consensus target at $27.33 and a general rating of "Moderate Buy."

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 649,286 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 13,141 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.11% of Veeco Instruments worth $13,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 55.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 835,539 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $16,778,000 after purchasing an additional 299,235 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 731,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $19,591,000 after acquiring an additional 53,500 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 35.4% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 667,383 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,401,000 after acquiring an additional 174,344 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 562,061 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $15,063,000 after acquiring an additional 42,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 4.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 530,956 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,662,000 after acquiring an additional 22,186 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock traded up $0.35 on Tuesday, reaching $25.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 501,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,099. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 1.23. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $34.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 5.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $166.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued 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 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.