Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Up 8.6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Veeco Instruments shares rose 8.6% on Thursday, trading as high as $59.44 amid lighter-than-normal volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: recent target hikes from Barclays and Citigroup were offset by downgrades, and the overall consensus remains Hold with an average price target of $40.60.
• Recent fundamentals were soft, as the company missed quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while insiders have also been selling shares in recent months.

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) traded up 8.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $59.44 and last traded at $59.1450. Approximately 145,519 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,292,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Veeco Instruments from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veeco Instruments to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 8.8%

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $63.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.06. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 156.31 and a beta of 1.34.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last released its 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). Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 3.49%. The business had revenue of $158.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.55, for a total value of $5,955,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 419,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,985,393.50. This trade represents a 19.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 35,723 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.69, for a total transaction of $2,203,751.87. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 42,974 shares in the company, valued at $2,651,066.06. This trade represents a 45.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 339,055 shares of company stock valued at $20,705,270. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 125.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,461 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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