Needham Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 677,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,500 shares during the quarter. Veeco Instruments makes up 1.7% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $22,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 6.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,263 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 1,821 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 63,325 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,226,000 after buying an additional 34,921 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 237.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,602 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.58. 90,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 657,027. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.52 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.53 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.91 and its 200 day moving average is $36.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.54.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $184.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Veeco Instruments’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.04, for a total value of $72,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 85,142 shares in the company, valued at $2,472,523.68. This trade represents a 2.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $225,850. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on VECO shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Northland Securities cut their target price on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.14.

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.