Riverwater Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,722 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,913 shares during the period. Veeco Instruments comprises 1.2% of Riverwater Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Riverwater Partners LLC owned 0.16% of Veeco Instruments worth $2,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $263,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 21.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 6.9 %

Shares of VECO stock traded down $1.36 on Thursday, hitting $18.24. 303,586 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 720,683. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.92 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $22.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments 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.