Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,459 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1,311.0% in the third 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 grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 28.3% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,543 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $170,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 24,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.30, for a total value of $854,295.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 545,091 shares in the company, valued at $19,241,712.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.10, for a total value of $170,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 67,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,294,179.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Veeco Instruments stock opened at $36.37 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.95 and a beta of 1.18. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.70 and a 1-year high of $37.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $35.15 and its 200 day moving average is $31.56.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $173.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.00 million. Research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

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.