Veeco Instruments VECO shares soared 8.8% in the last trading session to close at $46.73. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 40.2% gain over the past four weeks.
Veeco Instruments benefits from AI & High-Performance computing demand, strong order momentum and backlog growth, advanced packaging expansion, new product adoption and traction, semiconductor growth at advanced nodes, expansion into memory, data storage upcycle and compound semiconductor opportunities.
This precision manufacturing equipment maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.20 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -46%. Revenues are expected to be $160 million, down 4.4% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Veeco, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on VECO going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Veeco is a member of the Zacks Electronics - Manufacturing Machinery industry. One other stock in the same industry, Cohu COHU, finished the last trading session 7.3% higher at $44.27. COHU has returned 39.8% over the past month.
For Cohu, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -28.6% over the past month to $0.03. This represents a change of +250% from what the company reported a year ago. Cohu currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. Little-known AI firms tackling the world's biggest problems may be more lucrative in the coming months and years.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Veeco Instruments Inc. (VECO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Cohu, Inc. (COHU): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).