Needham & Company LLC Increases MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target to $136.00

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has raised MKS's price target from $130.00 to $136.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.16% from the company's previous close.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among eight buy ratings, three hold ratings, and one sell rating from equity analysts.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share, exceeding expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $973 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 9.7%.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $130.00 to $136.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently 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 12.16% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.90.

MKS Stock Down 9.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $121.26 on Monday. MKS has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $142.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $112.72 and a 200 day moving average of $95.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.97. 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 (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,230. This represents a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of MKS by 5.2% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 173,945 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $271,599,000 after acquiring an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $260,494,000 after acquiring an additional 958,607 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $114,466,000 after acquiring an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $125,025,000 after acquiring an additional 35,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

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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