PDT Partners LLC Sells 15,617 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

PDT Partners LLC lowered its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 24.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,040 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 15,617 shares during the quarter. PDT Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Veeco Instruments worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. 272 Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,009 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,548 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,455.42. This represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO traded up $0.81 on Friday, hitting $19.67. 696,108 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,698. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.98 and a quick ratio of 2.69. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.68.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Benchmark dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

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.