Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 19,851 Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has made a new investment in Veeco Instruments Inc., purchasing 19,851 shares valued at approximately $399,000.
• Institutional investors own 98.46% of Veeco Instruments, indicating strong support from the investment community.
• Recent analyst ratings have varied, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33 for VECO shares.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 19,851 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VECO. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 213.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO traded down $0.39 during trading on Monday, hitting $24.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 924,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,080,629. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $22.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.02. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $36.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04 and a beta of 1.23.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 7.38% and a net margin of 8.65%.The firm had revenue of $166.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $225,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 89,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.