Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) CEO William John Miller Sells 50,000 Shares

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.62, for a total value of $1,581,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 414,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,107,849.66. This represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

William John Miller also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 5th, William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $800,000.00.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ VECO traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,019,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,829. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.92 and a 1-year high of $35.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.97 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.40 and a 200 day moving average of $29.49. The company has a current ratio of 4.75, a quick ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VECO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $233,195,000 after purchasing an additional 62,016 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,396,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,023,000 after acquiring an additional 157,978 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,215,031 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $65,329,000 after buying an additional 284,716 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 1.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,481,803 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 26,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1.3% in the second quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,971,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VECO shares. Zacks Research upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.17.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) is a leading supplier of process equipment for the semiconductor, data storage, wireless communications, power electronics and advanced packaging industries. The company designs, manufactures and services precision tools used to grow, deposit and etch thin films on substrates, enabling the fabrication of chips, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and high-density storage devices. Veeco’s platforms are deployed across fabrication facilities worldwide, where they support key processes in materials science and device manufacturing.

Veeco’s product portfolio spans molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etch and deposition, and high-precision wet and dry etch systems.