Rhumbline Advisers Purchases 13,613 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 8.3% in the first quarter, owning approximately 176,679 shares valued at $3.55 million.
• Veeco Instruments reported an EPS of $0.36 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $0.22, yet its revenue declined by 5.6% year-over-year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Veeco Instruments, with a price target of $27.33, indicating expected stock price growth.

Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,679 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 13,613 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.30% of Veeco Instruments worth $3,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 396.2% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 213.9% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,672 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of VECO traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,164,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 911,493. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.26. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $34.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a current ratio of 5.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.14. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 7.38%. The business had revenue of $166.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VECO has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 4,046 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total transaction of $105,196.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $625,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 470,671 shares of the company's stock, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.