Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Veeco Instruments shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $80.10 and last changing hands at $84.57, well above the prior close of $77.48.
• Analyst opinions are mixed, with recent upgrades from Zacks and Citigroup, but the overall consensus remains “Hold” and the average price target is $40.60, far below the current share price.
• The company recently missed earnings and revenue estimates for Q1, though it issued Q2 and full-year 2026 guidance; meanwhile, insider selling has been notable, including sales by the CEO and a director in recent weeks.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $80.10 and last traded at $84.5680, with a volume of 25657 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veeco Instruments to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a current ratio of 4.23. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 218.93 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.09.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $158.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.07 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 3.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. 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, research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, Director Gordon Hunter sold 16,974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.80, for a total value of $1,167,811.20. Following the sale, the director owned 11,236 shares in the company, valued at $773,036.80. This trade represents a 60.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.62, for a total transaction of $2,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 369,570 shares in the company, valued at $21,664,193.40. This represents a 11.92% 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. Insiders sold a total of 339,055 shares of company stock worth $20,705,270 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,088 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 30,646 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 51.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,785 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 10,122 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 148.0% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 474,415 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,526,000 after purchasing an additional 283,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the first quarter valued at approximately $618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.46% of the company's stock.

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.

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.