The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price target upped by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $92.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sell” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 3.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $123.30.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $121.26 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $112.72 and a 200 day moving average of $95.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.97. MKS has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $142.20.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total value of $36,642.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,562 shares in the company, valued at $1,412,182.68. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of MKS by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $260,494,000 after buying an additional 958,607 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth $85,391,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of MKS by 843.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 690,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $68,587,000 after buying an additional 617,113 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,320,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 146.4% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 912,380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $90,654,000 after purchasing an additional 542,094 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About MKS

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.