Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Holdings Lifted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 920.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 610,187 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.12% of Veeco Instruments worth $20,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,675,000. Old West Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 67,632 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 38,114 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth $679,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 133.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 76,895 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 43,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock opened at $30.79 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.67. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.92 and a fifty-two week high of $35.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.19 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 4.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $1,581,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 414,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,107,849.66. This represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VECO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.17.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.