EntryPoint Capital LLC Purchases 11,110 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 165.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,812 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 11,110 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VECO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,676,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,373,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 20.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,216,351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $73,428,000 after purchasing an additional 371,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 751,003 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $24,880,000 after buying an additional 216,616 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ VECO opened at $21.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 1.24. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.05 and a 1-year high of $49.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.75 and a 200-day moving average of $27.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VECO. Oppenheimer restated 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $61,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. The trade was a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.