Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Shares Sold by SG Capital Management LLC

SG Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 678,169 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 129,945 shares during the quarter. Veeco Instruments accounts for about 1.8% of SG Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. SG Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $20,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $233,195,000 after acquiring an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,396,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,023,000 after buying an additional 157,978 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,215,031 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,329,000 after buying an additional 284,716 shares during the period. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,971,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,433,171 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,125,000 after acquiring an additional 64,729 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $29.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.62. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $35.77. The company has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day moving average of $28.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 464,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,865,376. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.