MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $156.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 33.07% from the company’s previous close.

MKSI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho raised shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.75.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $117.23 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $110.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. MKS Instruments has a 52-week low of $97.54 and a 52-week high of $147.40. The company has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 260.51, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.66.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Instruments will post 6.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total value of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,707.19. The trade was a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total transaction of $34,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,146,048.40. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS Instruments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 705.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,547 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 10,989 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in MKS Instruments by 7.6% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 141,187 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,436,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in MKS Instruments during the second quarter worth $1,599,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in MKS Instruments by 7.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,303,000 after acquiring an additional 30,216 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $265,874,000 after acquiring an additional 237,979 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Instruments Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc provides foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications in the United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and internationally. It operates through Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Material Solutions Division (MSD) segments.