Herald Investment Management Ltd Buys 35,000 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Herald Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Herald Investment Management Ltd owned approximately 0.31% of Veeco Instruments worth $4,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,965,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,321 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,314,000 after buying an additional 22,850 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter worth about $633,000. 272 Capital LP acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 311,886 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $10,333,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company's stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 3.1 %

VECO traded up $0.56 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.37. 214,082 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,600. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.92 and a fifty-two week high of $49.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $20.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.12.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, equities research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 72,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.