Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Veeco Instruments from “hold” to “strong-buy,” even as the broader analyst view remains cautious with a consensus rating of “hold” and an average target price of $40.60.
• Veeco reported mixed quarterly results, posting $0.14 EPS versus the $0.20 estimate and $158.34 million in revenue, slightly below expectations, while revenue fell 5.4% year over year.
• Insider selling and recent analyst moves added to the stock’s mixed signal picture, with the CEO and a director selling shares recently while Citi and Barclays raised their price targets materially.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on VECO. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VECO opened at $60.24 on Tuesday. Veeco Instruments has a 52 week low of $19.04 and a 52 week high of $65.43. 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's fifty day moving average is $46.07 and its 200-day moving average is $36.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 158.53 and a beta of 1.36.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.06). The firm 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Equities research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CEO William John Miller sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.55, for a total transaction of $5,955,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 419,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,985,393.50. This represents a 19.25% 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 company'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 transaction, the director owned 112,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,835,581.74. The trade was a 27.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 272,109 shares of company stock worth $14,936,860. Insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 16,961.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares during the last quarter. 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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