Magnetar Financial LLC Buys Shares of 1,691,446 Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Veeco Instruments, buying 1,691,446 shares worth about $48.3 million. The position represents roughly 2.81% of Veeco and about 0.5% of Magnetar’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 98.46% of Veeco shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several other funds also increased or initiated positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: Barclays recently raised its price target to $55, while the broader consensus remains Hold with an average target of $40.60. The company also reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,691,446 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $48,342,000. Veeco Instruments makes up about 0.5% of Magnetar Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Magnetar Financial LLC owned approximately 2.81% of Veeco Instruments at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the third quarter worth about $91,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 16,961.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 152.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,160 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 3,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 9.9% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,421 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VECO shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Veeco Instruments to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Veeco Instruments has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.60.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, Director Richard A. Damore sold 43,701 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total value of $2,653,087.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 112,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,835,581.74. The trade was a 27.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 35,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.69, for a total value of $2,203,751.87. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 42,974 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,066.06. This represents a 45.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 339,055 shares of company stock valued at $20,705,270 in the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 9.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $75.20 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $55.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 197.90 and a beta of 1.39. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.29 and a 12-month high of $86.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 4.23 and a quick ratio of 2.86.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.06). Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 3.53%.The business had revenue of $158.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Veeco Instruments has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.200-0.320 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 1.500-1.850 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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