Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Sold by Twinbeech Capital LP

Twinbeech Capital LP lowered its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 86.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,966 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 91,919 shares during the quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP's holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,009 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 3,548 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 0.4%

Veeco Instruments stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.71. 57,906 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 743,183. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $167.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VECO shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Benchmark cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

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.