Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Purchased by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 76.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,249 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 55,624 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.23% of Veeco Instruments worth $3,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at $50,000. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective 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, Barclays cut their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.95. The stock had a trading volume of 726,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,774. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.92 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $21.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

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.