Granahan Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Granahan Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 243,669 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 48,095 shares during the period. Granahan Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Veeco Instruments worth $6,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,676,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,373,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,748,172 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $73,651,000 after acquiring an additional 531,821 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 278.2% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 432,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $11,598,000 after acquiring an additional 318,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,792,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $74,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.26. 361,488 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 743,397. 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 12-month low of $16.92 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.17. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

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.