Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $6.48 Million Stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 241,713 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 81,298 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Veeco Instruments worth $6,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 731,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $19,591,000 after buying an additional 53,500 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 203.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 191,316 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,127,000 after buying an additional 128,179 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 31,609 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 59,700 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,600,000 after buying an additional 18,439 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VECO traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $20.40. The stock had a trading volume of 505,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,306. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The business had revenue of $167.29 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.00 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Veeco Instruments's revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VECO. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $30.43.

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.