Royce & Associates LP Has $12.07 Million Stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 450,403 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 76,760 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.79% of Veeco Instruments worth $12,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 272 Capital LP purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 721.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,341 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 4,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 34.2% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,754 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 2,231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company's stock.

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Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO traded down $0.47 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,360,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,597. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.05 and a twelve month high of $49.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.04 and its 200 day moving average is $27.59.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on VECO shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target 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, Benchmark cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.