Invesco Ltd. Has $10.41 Million Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 388,451 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,778 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.68% of Veeco Instruments worth $10,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VECO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,676,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth $14,373,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in 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 during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,106,888 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,665,000 after acquiring an additional 137,194 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,477,260 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $200,391,000 after purchasing an additional 110,825 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Veeco Instruments stock opened at $17.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.43. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-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.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VECO shares. Barclays cut 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 report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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