140,854 Shares in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 140,854 Veeco Instruments shares worth approximately $10.7 million, giving it a 0.23% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 98.46% of the company.
• Veeco insiders sold 284,232 shares worth roughly $15.95 million over the past quarter, while insiders retain a 2.70% ownership stake.
• Veeco exceeded quarterly expectations with EPS of $0.33 versus $0.26 expected and revenue of $193.48 million, up 16.5% year over year. Despite some positive analyst revisions, the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with a $49.33 price target.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 140,854 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $10,681,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.23% of Veeco Instruments at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tema ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 125.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,461 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 15,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $1,078,597.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,910,674.08. This represents a 36.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 85,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,532,475. The trade was a 10.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 284,232 shares of company stock valued at $15,949,801. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research cut Veeco Instruments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO stock opened at $44.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.49 and a 200-day moving average of $49.35. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 123.06 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $23.31 and a 12-month high of $86.63.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $193.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.08 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 3.40%.The company's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. Veeco Instruments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.610 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.490 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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