The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 182,143 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 6.6%, now owning about 5.03% of the company, valued at approximately $58.8 million.
• Veeco Instruments reported earnings of $0.36 EPS for the latest quarter, outperforming the consensus estimate of $0.22, despite a 5.6% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Veeco Instruments, with a consensus price target of $27.33, as several brokerages have adjusted their price targets after recent earnings results.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,930,315 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 182,143 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 5.03% of Veeco Instruments worth $58,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VECO. State of Wyoming increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 175.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 17,635 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 11,238 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter worth $884,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1,238.4% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 42,266 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 39,108 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter valued at $399,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of VECO traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $23.59. 431,189 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 760,026. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.04. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a one year low of $16.92 and a one year high of $34.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.13 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 3.43 and a current ratio of 5.10.

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 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 company had revenue of $166.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VECO shares. Benchmark reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 89,254 shares in the company, valued at $1,829,707. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% 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.