Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Down 6.2% – Time to Sell?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO)’s share price dropped 6.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $47.00 and last traded at $47.7650. 193,267 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,219,046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Barclays lifted 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 note on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.33.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 5.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 3.93 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.51 and a beta of 1.38.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.07. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $193.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, research analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In other news, Director Gordon Hunter sold 17,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.61, for a total transaction of $1,091,359.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,154,008.82. This represents a 33.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William John Miller sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.62, for a total transaction of $2,931,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 369,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,664,193.40. This trade represents a 11.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 193,076 shares of company stock valued at $11,674,281. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veeco Instruments

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth $728,127,000. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its stake 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 valued at $69,023,000 after purchasing an additional 157,978 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in 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 worth $65,329,000 after purchasing an additional 284,716 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,481,803 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $75,521,000 after buying an additional 26,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Paradigm Capital Management Inc. NY now owns 2,410,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,971,000 after acquiring an additional 30,000 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veeco Instruments Company 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.