Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Reduces Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL reduced its position in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,028 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 12,727 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VECO. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 237.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at $99,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 733.3% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth about $200,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of VECO opened at $29.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 3.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.63 and a 52-week high of $49.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of -65.49 and a beta of 1.17.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 11.83%. The company had revenue of $175.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.46, for a total value of $121,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 94,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,594,444.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VECO shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Veeco Instruments from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Northland Securities dropped their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.57.

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.