Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Acquired by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 8,786.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 176,845 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 174,855 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $3,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VECO. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 163,066 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,370,000 after acquiring an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 778,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,858,000 after purchasing an additional 147,269 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 327,887 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,787,000 after purchasing an additional 16,001 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 433,440 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth about $415,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $21.57 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40 and a beta of 1.11. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.09.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $167.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.00 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. The company’s revenue was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 11,010 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $225,705.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 89,254 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,829,707. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $27.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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, Barclays dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.43.

About Veeco Instruments

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.