MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on MKSI. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho increased their price target on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.80.

MKS Stock Up 4.3%

MKSI stock opened at $109.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.94. MKS has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $125.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.95 and a 200-day moving average of $89.35.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585 in the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 114.7% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,911 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 190,128 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $19,847,000 after acquiring an additional 12,942 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 92,932 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,701,000 after acquiring an additional 19,244 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,439 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,447,000 after acquiring an additional 7,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 367,437 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,357,000 after acquiring an additional 225,285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.