Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VECO. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Veeco Instruments from $30.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Zacks Research cut Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.33.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

VECO opened at $52.78 on Friday. Veeco Instruments has a 12-month low of $22.32 and a 12-month high of $86.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.61 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.28. The company has a current ratio of 3.93, a quick ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $193.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $180.08 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $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. Equities analysts predict that Veeco Instruments will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veeco Instruments

In related news, Director Richard A. Damore sold 43,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.71, for a total value of $2,653,087.71. Following the transaction, the director owned 112,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,835,581.74. This represents a 27.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon Hunter sold 29,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,754,496.12. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,676 shares in the company, valued at $3,129,481.16. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 231,309 shares of company stock valued at $14,295,115 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VECO. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the second quarter valued at $728,127,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the fourth quarter worth about $48,342,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 37.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,820,357 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,026,000 after buying an additional 495,767 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 1,164.3% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 477,386 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,644,000 after buying an additional 439,628 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new position in Veeco Instruments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,648,000. 98.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.