Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $33.28, but opened at $35.26. Veeco Instruments shares last traded at $34.98, with a volume of 45,292 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Northland Capmk downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Northland Securities lowered Veeco Instruments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.57.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 3.8%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.05. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 1.17.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 6.35% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $165.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. Veeco Instruments’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Veeco Instruments has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.160-0.320 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 464,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,865,376. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 49,728.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 3,481 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Veeco Instruments by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,465 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 329.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,632 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,554 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by 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.