Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $33.28, but opened at $35.26. Veeco Instruments shares last traded at $34.98, with a volume of 45,292 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VECO has been the subject of several research reports. Northland Capmk cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veeco Instruments in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Northland Securities lowered Veeco Instruments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut shares of Veeco Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Veeco Instruments from $29.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.57.

Veeco Instruments Stock Up 3.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.62.

Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.49 million. Veeco Instruments had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 6.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Veeco Instruments has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.160-0.320 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veeco Instruments Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William John Miller sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $800,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 464,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,865,376. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veeco Instruments

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Veeco Instruments by 29.6% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 134,088 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 30,646 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Veeco Instruments by 51.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,785 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 10,122 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Veeco Instruments by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 33,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $664,000 after buying an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Veeco Instruments by 148.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 474,415 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,526,000 after buying an additional 283,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veeco Instruments in the 1st quarter valued at $618,000. 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.