Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Trading Down 9.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) traded down 9.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $40.90 and last traded at $40.5310. 350,245 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,150,321 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research downgraded Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup increased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.33.

Veeco Instruments Stock Down 9.8%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 3.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 112.37 and a beta of 1.37.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 3.40%.The business had revenue of $193.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Veeco Instruments’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veeco Instruments

In other news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total value of $1,786,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 68,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,512,342.10. The trade was a 33.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William Miller sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total value of $10,836,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 169,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,187,302.60. This represents a 54.12% 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. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tema ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the second quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

Veeco Instruments Company Profile

Veeco Instruments Inc develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic components. Its systems support processes such as thin-film deposition, etching, lithography-related applications, and thermal processing, helping manufacturers create and refine microscopic structures on wafers and other materials.

The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems for compound semiconductors, ion beam etch and deposition equipment, laser annealing systems, and other wafer-processing technologies.