Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Short Interest Down 16.3% in February

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,430,000 shares, a decline of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 6,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 710,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.6 days. Approximately 9.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO stock opened at $21.59 on Wednesday. Veeco Instruments has a 1-year low of $20.05 and a 1-year high of $49.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.67.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.43.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. 272 Capital LP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 46.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 721.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,341 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.