Oberweis Asset Management Inc. Has $5.52 Million Stock Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 37.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 205,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 120,800 shares during the quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Veeco Instruments worth $5,515,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,676,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth $14,373,000. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 278.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,792,850 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $74,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 778,280 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $20,858,000 after acquiring an additional 147,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Veeco Instruments stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 86,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,677. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.12. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.95.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 72,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

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.