Amundi Acquires 19,140 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 191.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 29,137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 19,140 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.05% of Veeco Instruments worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 46.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 257.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,886 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. 272 Capital LP bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO opened at $21.84 on Thursday. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.05 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.63. The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.24.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 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 research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Company 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.