MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Cut to $300.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham cut its price target on MKS from $390 to $300 but maintained a Buy rating; the revised target still implied 69.66% upside from the previous close.
• MKS reported quarterly EPS of $4.18 and revenue of $1.41 billion, beating analyst expectations of $3.63 and $1.36 billion, respectively; revenue grew 43% year over year.
• The board authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to 3.6% of its shares. Analyst consensus remained “Moderate Buy,” with a $368.43 target price.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $390.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price would indicate a potential upside of 69.66% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded MKS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.43.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI traded down $18.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $176.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,478,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,476. The business has a fifty day moving average of $243.61 and a 200-day moving average of $277.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 2.14. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. MKS's revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MKS will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 4th that allows the company to repurchase $500 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the scientific and technical instruments company to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Spyglass Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $52,720,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth $231,673,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the first quarter valued at about $1,329,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 42.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,846 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $19,948,000 after purchasing an additional 13,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of MKS by 3,011.9% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,434,000 after purchasing an additional 18,674 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.18 topped the roughly $3.63 analyst estimate, while revenue of $1.41 billion beat expectations of about $1.36 billion and grew 43% year over year. Reports cited strong semiconductor demand, including AI-related demand, and record adjusted EBITDA. MKS third-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: The company forecast fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.62–$5.38, above its third-quarter result at the midpoint, supporting expectations for continued earnings growth. MKS fourth-quarter EPS outlook
• Positive Sentiment: MKS authorized a $500 million share-repurchase program, potentially buying back up to 3.6% of its shares. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share. Buybacks can support per-share results and signal confidence, though neither guarantees a share-price gain. MKS buyback and dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: The supplied coverage contains no clear company-specific negative development to explain the share weakness; trading may reflect factors outside the news summarized here.

About MKS

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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