Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Shares Purchased by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1,238.4% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 39,108 shares to own approximately 0.07% of the company, valued at $849,000.
• Veeco Instruments reported $0.36 earnings per share for its last quarter, exceeding expectations of $0.22, despite a 5.6% decrease in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Veeco Instruments, with Needham & Company raising its price target to $30.00 while Goldman Sachs lowered it to $20.00; the average rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a target of $27.33.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 1,238.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,266 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,108 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Veeco Instruments worth $849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 396.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 1st quarter worth approximately $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 worth $63,000 after buying 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 worth $68,000 after buying 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 worth $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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total transaction of $225,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 89,254 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,829,707. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $25.25 on Monday. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.92 and a fifty-two week high of $38.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 5.10 and a quick ratio of 3.43.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $166.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $151.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Four 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

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.

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