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

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.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

MKSI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

MKS Stock Up 5.9%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $105.25 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.86. MKS has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $125.33. The company has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.86.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of MKS by 5.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,373 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $281,758,000 after acquiring an additional 173,945 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in MKS by 9.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in MKS by 41.8% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its position in MKS by 52.9% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $114,466,000 after buying an additional 494,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in MKS by 2.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,108 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $125,025,000 after buying an additional 35,065 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Company Profile

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.

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