Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires New Position in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,691,446 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,342,000. Veeco Instruments comprises about 0.5% of Magnetar Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,663,310 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $233,195,000 after acquiring an additional 62,016 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 4.9% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,396,804 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $69,023,000 after purchasing an additional 157,978 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 9.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,215,031 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,329,000 after purchasing an additional 284,716 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,481,803 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $75,521,000 after purchasing an additional 26,248 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY increased its stake in Veeco Instruments by 1.3% in the second quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,971,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In related news, Director Richard A. Damore sold 43,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 112,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,835,581.74. This represents a 27.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,167,811.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,236 shares in the company, valued at $773,036.80. The trade was a 60.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 339,055 shares of company stock worth $20,705,270. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

Shares of Veeco Instruments stock opened at $75.20 on Wednesday. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.29 and a twelve month high of $86.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 197.90 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.79.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly 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 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 business’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VECO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veeco Instruments to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments 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.