State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Reduces Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,776 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $263,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ VECO opened at $19.67 on Monday. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.92 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.00 and a 200-day moving average of $24.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.98.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.38% and a net margin of 10.28%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $61,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Veeco Instruments 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.