Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Veeco Instruments from “strong-buy” to “hold,” though other analysts remain mixed-to-positive and MarketBeat shows a consensus “Hold” rating with a $40.60 target price.
• Veeco recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting $0.14 EPS versus $0.20 expected and revenue of $158.34 million versus $160.07 million expected, with revenue down 5.4% year over year.
• Insider selling has been notable, including recent stock sales by an SVP and a director; in the past three months, insiders sold 339,055 shares worth about $20.7 million.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VECO. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Veeco Instruments from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veeco Instruments to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of VECO stock opened at $53.35 on Monday. Veeco Instruments has a 12 month low of $19.29 and a 12 month high of $86.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.40 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $158.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.07 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 3.53%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 35,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.69, for a total transaction of $2,203,751.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 42,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,651,066.06. This represents a 45.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard A. Damore sold 43,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total transaction of $2,653,087.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 112,594 shares in the company, valued at $6,835,581.74. This trade represents a 27.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 339,055 shares of company stock worth $20,705,270. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 32,882 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,503 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position 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 buying an additional 462 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew 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 worth $130,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 0.7% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% 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.

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