Shaker Investments LLC OH Takes $2.09 Million Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Shaker Investments LLC OH purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 44,650 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,000. Shaker Investments LLC OH owned 0.08% of Veeco Instruments at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Crestline Management LP boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 155.7% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 109,286 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,391,000 after purchasing an additional 66,544 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 81.0% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 114,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,482,000 after acquiring an additional 51,000 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 11.4% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 292,848 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 280.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,949 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,370,000 after purchasing an additional 28,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $875,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VECO. Barclays increased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup downgraded Veeco Instruments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Northland Securities decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $45.57.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 4.6 %

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock traded down $1.74 during trading on Monday, reaching $36.26. 409,280 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,073. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.58 and a beta of 1.22. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.63 and a twelve month high of $49.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $175.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 EPS. Veeco Instruments's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.46, for a total value of $121,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 94,809 shares in the company, valued at $4,594,444.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.

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