Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 74,106 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management raised its Veeco stake by 11%, buying 74,106 shares to own 746,429 shares (about 1.24%) valued at roughly $22.7 million at the end of the quarter.
• CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares at $31.62 for $1.581 million, trimming his position by 10.76% to 414,543 shares; insiders now own about 2.30% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but positive overall with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.17; Citigroup lifted its target to $40 and Zacks moved to a "strong-buy."

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 746,429 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 74,106 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.24% of Veeco Instruments worth $22,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 4.9% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,396,804 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $69,023,000 after buying an additional 157,978 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 9.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,215,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $65,329,000 after acquiring an additional 284,716 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 1.3% in the second quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $48,971,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 4.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,433,171 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,125,000 after acquiring an additional 64,729 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total transaction of $1,581,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,107,849.66. The trade was a 10.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $30.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.19 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50-day moving average is $31.50 and its 200-day moving average is $29.67. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $35.77.

Veeco Instruments Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc NASDAQ: VECO is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco's platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco's product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.

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