Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of LED specialist Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq: VECO) surged more than 12% in intraday trading as investors reacted to some bullish talk from General Electric (NYSE: GE) and an announcement from the company about its data storage segment.
So What: Yesterday the head of GE's lighting division talked about the growth he sees ahead for LED products as he estimated that 75% of the company's $3 billion lighting division could come from LED products within the next decade. A shift like that could be a major boon for LED players like Veeco. Meanwhile, a press release from Veeco this morning noted that "leading global hard disk drive manufacturers" had selected Veeco's technology for their next generation products.
Now What: Perhaps I'm missing something when it comes to the math of Veeco's pop today, but neither piece of news seems to really justify the stock's move. The press release from the company could be good news -- Seagate (NYSE: STX) has been a significant customer in the past and there aren't too many other "leading manufacturers" in the hard disk drive industry to choose from -- but it was also very vague. The talk from GE was a bit more interesting as it could be seen as validating Veeco's focus at a time when the stock's valuation suggests that investors aren't particularly excited about its future prospects. Both items should certainly figure into investors' evaluation of Veeco, but it might be worth waiting to see if shares settle back down a little.
Interested in more info on Veeco Instruments? Add it to your watchlist here by clicking here.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. True to its name, The Motley Fool is made up of a motley assortment of writers and analysts, each with a unique perspective; sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, but we all believe in the power of learning from each other through our Foolish community.
Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. You can check out what Matt is keeping an eye on by visiting his CAPS portfolio, or you can follow Matt on Twitter @KoppTheFool or on his RSS feed. The Fool's disclosure policy assures you no Wookiees were harmed in the making of this article.
