MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.55 EPS

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55, FiscalAI reports. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

MKS Trading Down 5.0%

MKS stock traded down $10.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $194.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,497,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,376,911. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $243.61 and its 200 day moving average is $277.24. MKS has a 1-year low of $134.74 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MKS from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.86.

Insider Activity

In other MKS news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $3,020,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) develops technologies that enable precision control and measurement in manufacturing and research environments. The company provides instruments, components, systems and process-control solutions used to measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas delivery, temperature and other critical production conditions.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum solutions, pressure and flow-control instruments, gas and vapor delivery systems, plasma and reactive-gas technologies, power delivery systems, process-monitoring equipment, analytical instruments and materials-characterization tools.