Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes $1.12 Million Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 41,855 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,122,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned 0.07% of Veeco Instruments at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $263,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 54.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

NASDAQ VECO traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.10. 63,745 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 734,179. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $19.86 and its 200-day moving average is $24.52. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. Equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.