Penn Capital Management Company LLC Takes $909,000 Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 29,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth $91,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at $146,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,985 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $31.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.54 and a beta of 1.17. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $35.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.95. The company has a quick ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 4.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VECO. Zacks Research raised Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.17.

Insider Activity

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 414,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,107,849.66. This trade represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

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.