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

Shares of Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $54.42, but opened at $50.92. Veeco Instruments shares last traded at $50.3420, with a volume of 110,524 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VECO. Zacks Research upgraded Veeco Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Veeco Instruments from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veeco Instruments to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Veeco Instruments from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.60.

Veeco Instruments Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.76 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.04 and its 200-day moving average is $43.72.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $158.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.07 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 3.53% and a return on equity of 3.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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 research analysts expect that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Veeco Instruments news, SVP Adrian Devasahayam sold 10,000 shares of Veeco Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 85,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,532,475. The trade was a 10.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan Wilkerson sold 15,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.56, for a total transaction of $1,078,597.36. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,910,674.08. This trade represents a 36.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 339,055 shares of company stock worth $20,705,270. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VECO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Veeco Instruments by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in Veeco Instruments by 125.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,461 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Veeco Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments during the first quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veeco Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Institutional investors own 98.46% of the company’s stock.

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.