Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Down 13.7% – Here’s Why

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) traded down 13.7% on Friday. The company traded as low as $37.01 and last traded at $36.9350. 527,680 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 1,084,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 102.58 and a beta of 1.36.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $193.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.08 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 3.40%. The company’s revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. Veeco Instruments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.360-1.610 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.490 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In related news, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total value of $10,836,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 169,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,187,302.60. This represents a 54.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO John Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total value of $1,786,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,342.10. This trade represents a 33.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Bridge City Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $3,458,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $325,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 862.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Veeco Instruments by 31.7% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,285 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 2,956 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 74.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,852 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic devices. Its systems help customers deposit, etch, pattern, anneal and otherwise process thin films and materials at the wafer level.

The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems, molecular beam epitaxy equipment, ion beam etch and deposition systems, laser annealing systems, and related process-control and automation technologies.