Wall Street Zen Upgrades MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) received an upgrade from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the stock.
• The stock has a current consensus price target of $119.80, with multiple analyst ratings including buy and outperform from various firms.
• MKS recently reported strong earnings, with $1.77 earnings per share and revenue of $973 million for the last quarter, exceeding expectations.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

MKSI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKS stock traded down $1.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $128.62. 5,743,636 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,754. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $104.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.02. MKS has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $132.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. MKS's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,600 shares of company stock valued at $917,585 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 5.2% during the 1st 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 period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MKS 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 acquiring an additional 300,356 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 41.8% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 958,607 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 52.9% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 494,207 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.9% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 35,065 shares during the period. 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.