Traders Dump VECO Stock After Earnings, Cyber Attack

The shares are in territory not charted since August 2017

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ:VECO) stock is getting destroyed this morning, after the chipmaker revealed that it recently discovered a cyber attack that may have compromised confidential customer information. Adding salt to the proverbial wounds, the firm reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter revenue, and issued current-quarter guidance below expectations. As such, VECO stock was last seen 20% lower at $7.57 --and earlier fell as low as $6.61, in territory not charted since 2009-- on pace for its worst day since August 2017.

VECO stock has been struggling since its March 12 peak north of $20, and was down 36% year-to-date heading into today's session, with recent rebound attempts capped by its 30-day moving average. Now, the security is sitting on a 2018 loss of 47%.

While the shares are on the short-sale restricted list today, several shorts are undoubtedly cheering Veeco Instruments' bad news. Short interest increased by 5.2% in the most recent reporting period, and now represents about eight sessions' worth of trading, at VECO's average daily volume.

Meanwhile, negative analyst attention could be on the horizon. Two of the three brokerage firms following VECO maintain "strong buy" opinions, and the consensus 12-month price target of $18.25 is more than double the equity's current price. A round of downgrades or price-target cuts could exacerbate selling pressure on the chip stock.