MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

by · The Cerbat Gem

MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.17.

Several brokerages have recently commented on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, May 10th.

View Our Latest Research Report on MKS Instruments

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 143.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,141,676 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $282,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,792 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $117,672,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,664,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,490,779 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $461,966,000 after purchasing an additional 581,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,052,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $130.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.30. MKS Instruments has a 52 week low of $63.44 and a 52 week high of $139.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.89, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.43. MKS Instruments had a positive return on equity of 13.90% and a negative net margin of 48.24%. The business had revenue of $868.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.94 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that MKS Instruments will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.30%.

About MKS Instruments

(Get Free Report

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.

Read More