Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 41,011 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 146.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,062 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,011 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.12% of Veeco Instruments worth $1,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VECO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,676,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $14,373,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 278.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 778,280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $20,858,000 after acquiring an additional 147,269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Veeco Instruments stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.29. The company had a trading volume of 172,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,487. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.92 and a 200-day moving average of $24.56. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.92 and a 52 week high of $49.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VECO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Benchmark decreased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.00.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.