Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Sold by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 716,183 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 157,105 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $22,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1,311.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,193 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $211,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VECO opened at $36.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.66. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.70 and a 1-year high of $37.75.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.09. Veeco Instruments had a positive return on equity of 11.10% and a negative net margin of 4.56%. The company had revenue of $173.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.00 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Veeco Instruments from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Veeco Instruments from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $170,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 67,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,179.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total transaction of $170,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,179.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total transaction of $854,295.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 545,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,241,712.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

About Veeco Instruments

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.