Eagle Asset Management Inc. Sells 75,505 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 336,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 75,505 shares during the quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $11,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $529,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 165.0% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 370,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,288,000 after acquiring an additional 230,971 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 34.2% in 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. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at $1,368,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 8,922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 2,853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $27.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.54, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.84. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.52 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VECO shares. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Northland Securities decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Benchmark dropped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $42.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of Veeco Instruments 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,472,523.68. This trade represents a 2.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $225,850. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.