MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Up 11.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) rose 11.9% during mid-day trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $93.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MKS Instruments traded as high as $90.54 and last traded at $89.55. Approximately 574,083 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 1,069,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.05.

MKSI has been the topic of several other reports. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS Instruments

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $777,283,000 after buying an additional 97,392 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $271,599,000 after buying an additional 300,356 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $239,207,000 after buying an additional 6,715 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $232,943,000 after buying an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,466,000 after purchasing an additional 494,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.05.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.59 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is presently 26.27%.

About MKS Instruments

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.