Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Trading Up 8.6% – Here’s Why

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VECO. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veeco Instruments to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $63.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 151.06 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 4.23 and a quick ratio of 2.86.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $160.07 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In related news, Director Gordon Hunter sold 29,532 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,754,496.12. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,676 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,481.16. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard A. Damore sold 43,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 112,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,835,581.74. This represents a 27.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 339,055 shares of company stock worth $20,705,270. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tema ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth approximately $633,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter valued at $84,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 286,409 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,698,000 after acquiring an additional 41,925 shares during the period. Finally, Atreides Management LP purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter valued at $7,921,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.