Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Stock: ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,885 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15,082 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $1,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 125.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,461 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $37.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.97 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.87, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $86.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.03 and a 200-day moving average of $46.89.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.07). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.81% and a net margin of 3.62%. The business had revenue of $209.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $213.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $63.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total value of $10,836,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,187,302.60. This trade represents a 54.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total value of $1,786,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,512,342.10. This trade represents a 33.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic devices. Its systems help customers deposit, etch, pattern, anneal and otherwise process thin films and materials at the wafer level.

The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems, molecular beam epitaxy equipment, ion beam etch and deposition systems, laser annealing systems, and related process-control and automation technologies.