Sciencast Management LP Invests $204,000 in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Sciencast Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VECO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,676,000. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 50.3% in the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,640,649 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $87,485,000 after purchasing an additional 883,815 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,373,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 20.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,216,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $73,428,000 after purchasing an additional 371,221 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 37.3% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,175,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $38,953,000 after purchasing an additional 319,451 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.63, for a total transaction of $69,075.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,076,173.46. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $21.16 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $20.05 and a 12-month high of $49.25. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.06 and a beta of 1.24.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its 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 net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. Equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VECO. Barclays cut their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 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 for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Benchmark cut their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

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.