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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VECO. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,602 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 7,915 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,242,750 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $60,107,000 after purchasing an additional 78,884 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,962 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 54.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 146.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 69,062 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 41,011 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on VECO shares. Benchmark cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective 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. 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, Veeco Instruments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,829,707. This trade represents a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ VECO traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.52. 924,873 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,403. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $36.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $22.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.04.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

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.