Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,580,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the February 28th total of 5,430,000 shares. Approximately 8.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 741,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total value of $69,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,076,173.46. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 396.2% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 9,391 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 110,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,970,000 after purchasing an additional 51,526 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 164,871 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,419,000 after purchasing an additional 24,154 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 125.2% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 349,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,374,000 after purchasing an additional 194,495 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VECO shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark decreased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their target price 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, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.93. 1,047,277 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 716,312. Veeco Instruments has a one year low of $17.11 and a one year high of $49.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.75.

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 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 research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veeco Instruments Company 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.