Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Veeco Instruments shares gapped down at the open, falling from a previous close of $54.42 to an opening price of $50.92 and later trading around $50.34, down about 4.1%.
• Recent analyst sentiment is mixed: several firms raised price targets or upgraded the stock, but MarketBeat still shows a consensus Hold rating with a consensus target price of $40.60.
• The company recently missed earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.14 EPS versus $0.20 expected and $158.34 million in revenue versus $160.07 million expected, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $54.42, but opened at $50.92. Veeco Instruments shares last traded at $50.3420, with a volume of 110,524 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veeco Instruments to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 4.1%

The stock's 50-day moving average is $63.04 and its 200-day moving average is $43.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 136.76 and a beta of 1.34. 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 data on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $158.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 15,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total value of $1,078,597.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,910,674.08. This trade represents a 36.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard A. Damore sold 43,701 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was 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 owned 112,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,835,581.74. The trade was a 27.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 339,055 shares of company stock valued at $20,705,270 over the last 90 days. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 125.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,461 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter worth $84,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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