Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Veeco Instruments Inc. $VECO

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,167 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 9,077 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.25% of Veeco Instruments worth $4,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veeco Instruments by 75.6% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter worth approximately $91,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 16,961.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 3,562 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the third quarter worth approximately $146,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 7.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,111 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. 98.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Veeco Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VECO opened at $61.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 4.23 and a quick ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 160.64 and a beta of 1.39. Veeco Instruments Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.29 and a 1 year high of $65.43.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $158.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.07 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.49% and a net margin of 3.53%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,835,581.74. This represents a 27.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon Hunter sold 29,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,754,496.12. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,481.16. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 296,575 shares of company stock valued at $17,808,862 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.60.

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.