MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy"

Key Points

• Analysts at Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, reflecting a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and representing a 9.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Despite the downgrade, eight analysts currently rate MKS as a buy, indicating strong investor confidence, with a consensus price target of approximately $119.80.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.52. 700,560 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,103,309. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.86. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $101.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. MKS has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $125.33.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. MKS's payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of MKS by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,373 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $281,758,000 after buying an additional 173,945 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MKS by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $271,599,000 after buying an additional 300,356 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position 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 valued at $260,494,000 after buying an additional 958,607 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of MKS 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 buying an additional 494,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,108 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $125,025,000 after buying an additional 35,065 shares during the last quarter. 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.