Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 5,791 Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 33.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,628 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 5,791 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Veeco Instruments were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.5% during the second quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 67,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 21,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 18,675 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 49,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.04, for a total transaction of $72,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 85,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,472,523.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO opened at $33.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of -73.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $34.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.33. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.63 and a 1 year high of $49.25.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Northland Securities decreased their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $53.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $50.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.57.

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.