MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Increased to $145.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price target boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $125.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.62% from the company’s previous close.

MKSI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Benchmark lifted their target price on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet raised MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.75.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $127.62 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.21. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. MKS Instruments has a twelve month low of $63.44 and a twelve month high of $135.51. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of -4.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.69.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.43. MKS Instruments had a negative net margin of 50.80% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $868.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Instruments will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $123.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total transaction of $4,051,597.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,776 shares of company stock worth $5,026,307 over the last quarter. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS Instruments

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,853,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $593,136,000 after buying an additional 187,884 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $21,052,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in MKS Instruments by 2,071.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 880,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $90,432,000 after acquiring an additional 840,322 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MKS Instruments by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 7,453 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 134,735 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,660,000 after purchasing an additional 39,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

About MKS Instruments

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.