Riverwater Partners LLC Purchases 23,913 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Riverwater Partners LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,913 shares during the period. Veeco Instruments comprises 1.2% of Riverwater Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Riverwater Partners LLC owned about 0.16% of Veeco Instruments worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. 272 Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VECO. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $38.00 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Veeco Instruments from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.43.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Veeco Instruments stock opened at $17.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.12. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.11 and a 12 month high of $49.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.66 and its 200-day moving average is $26.78.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.28% and a return on equity of 9.38%. Equities research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.