MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho raised shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.75.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of MKSI opened at $117.23 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. MKS Instruments has a 12-month low of $97.54 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 260.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.66.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. MKS Instruments’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Instruments will post 6.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

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

Institutional Trading of MKS Instruments

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 108.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $110,789,000 after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 300,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,391,000 after purchasing an additional 292,226 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the second quarter worth approximately $34,541,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 219.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 348,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,445,000 after purchasing an additional 239,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 237,979 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.