MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Declares Share Buyback Plan

by · The Markets Daily

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 4th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the scientific and technical instruments company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of MKS from $390.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of MKS from $430.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MKS from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.77.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MKS

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $192.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.14 and a 200 day moving average of $277.02. MKS has a 12 month low of $134.74 and a 12 month high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business’s revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MKS will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is 11.86%.

Key Headlines Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: MKS beat third-quarter estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $4.18 versus roughly $3.63 expected. Revenue rose 43% year over year, supported by strong semiconductor demand. Zacks Q3 earnings report
  • Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to AI-fueled demand, capacity expansion and improving margins, and forecast fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.62–$5.38—signaling potential for continued growth. Zacks earnings-call highlights
  • Positive Sentiment: The company authorized a $500 million share repurchase program, which may support demand for the stock and signals the board’s willingness to return capital to shareholders. $500 million buyback announcement
  • Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets, tempering the positive earnings news. Deutsche Bank lowered its target to $240 from $385 but maintained Buy; Citigroup cut to $350 from $430 and also kept Buy. Wells Fargo reduced its target to $195 from $285 and maintained Equal Weight. Deutsche Bank target update Citigroup target update Wells Fargo target update

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at $4,729,341.20. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,703,699.76. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About MKS

(Get Free Report)

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) develops technologies that enable precision control and measurement in manufacturing and research environments. The company provides instruments, components, systems and process-control solutions used to measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas delivery, temperature and other critical production conditions.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum solutions, pressure and flow-control instruments, gas and vapor delivery systems, plasma and reactive-gas technologies, power delivery systems, process-monitoring equipment, analytical instruments and materials-characterization tools.

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