Wasatch Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Key Points

• Wasatch Advisors cut its Veeco Instruments stake by 66.5% in the second quarter, selling 461,351 shares and retaining 232,561 shares worth approximately $17.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 98.46% of VECO.
• Veeco reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.33, beating estimates of $0.26, while revenue rose 16.5% year over year to $193.48 million. The stock opened at $53.26, below its 50-day moving average of $60.61.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.33; meanwhile, insiders sold 193,076 shares worth $11.7 million over the past three months.

Wasatch Advisors LP lowered its stake in Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report) by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,561 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 461,351 shares during the quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP owned about 0.38% of Veeco Instruments worth $17,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,882 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,503 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,986 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,421 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 97,050 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock opened at $53.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.94 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.77. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a one year low of $23.31 and a one year high of $86.63.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.07. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 3.40%.The firm had revenue of $193.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VECO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veeco Instruments presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 35,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,651,066.06. This trade represents a 45.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon Hunter sold 17,714 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.61, for a total transaction of $1,091,359.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 34,962 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,154,008.82. This trade represents a 33.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 193,076 shares of company stock valued at $11,674,281 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VECO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source