Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Bought by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 778,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 147,269 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 1.37% of Veeco Instruments worth $20,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 165.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 370,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,288,000 after acquiring an additional 230,971 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,321 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,314,000 after purchasing an additional 22,850 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 42.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 175,073 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 52,328 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth approximately $2,109,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth $633,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $24.67 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 3.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $26.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.73. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 1.13.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.14). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 10.92% and a net margin of 11.34%. Research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the 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 directly owns 72,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,780,455.42. This trade represents a 3.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VECO. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments 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.