Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Stock Falls 13.7% – Should You Sell?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) shares dropped 13.7% on Friday. The company traded as low as $37.01 and last traded at $36.9350. Approximately 527,680 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 1,084,487 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities upgraded shares of Veeco Instruments from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on Veeco Instruments from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Veeco Instruments in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Veeco Instruments Trading Down 9.2%

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 company’s 50 day moving average is $46.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.82. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.97 and a beta of 1.36.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $193.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.08 million. Veeco Instruments had a return on equity of 3.52% and a net margin of 3.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veeco Instruments

In other Veeco Instruments news, CFO John P. Kiernan sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.05, for a total value of $1,786,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,512,342.10. The trade was a 33.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.18, for a total transaction of $10,836,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 169,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tema ETFs LLC bought a new stake in Veeco Instruments in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Veeco Instruments in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Veeco Instruments by 0.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 97,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,286,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Veeco Instruments during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Veeco Instruments during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 98.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Veeco Instruments

Veeco Instruments Inc (NASDAQ: VECO) develops and manufactures specialized equipment used in the production of semiconductors and other advanced electronic devices. Its systems help customers deposit, etch, pattern, anneal and otherwise process thin films and materials at the wafer level.

The company’s product portfolio includes metal-organic chemical vapor deposition systems, molecular beam epitaxy equipment, ion beam etch and deposition systems, laser annealing systems, and related process-control and automation technologies.