Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Climb 5.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Veeco Instruments shares rose 5.3% to about $47.87, although trading volume was 82% below the average daily level.
• Recent earnings exceeded expectations: quarterly EPS was $0.33 versus the $0.26 consensus, while revenue increased 16.5% year over year to $193.48 million. Analysts’ consensus rating remains Hold, with a $61.33 price target.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 98.46%, with major investors including BlackRock adding new positions. Meanwhile, the CEO and CFO sold shares through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) traded up 5.3% on Friday. The company traded as high as $47.61 and last traded at $47.8650. 203,433 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,124,987 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VECO. Wall Street Zen raised Veeco Instruments from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.33.

Veeco Instruments Trading Up 7.1%

The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.29 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $47.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The company had revenue of $193.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $180.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. On average, research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total transaction of $10,836,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,187,302.60. This represents a 54.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total value of $1,786,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,512,342.10. This trade represents a 33.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the second quarter worth about $728,127,000. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $156,557,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth about $134,434,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth about $48,342,000. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,836,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic components. Its systems support processes such as thin-film deposition, etching, lithography-related applications, and thermal processing, helping manufacturers create and refine microscopic structures on wafers and other materials.

The company's product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems for compound semiconductors, ion beam etch and deposition equipment, laser annealing systems, and other wafer-processing technologies.

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