MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Declares Stock Buyback Plan

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 4th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the scientific and technical instruments company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho cut their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.86.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock traded down $10.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $194.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,497,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,376,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $243.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.24. MKS has a one year low of $134.74 and a one year high of $447.62. The firm has a market cap of $13.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 2.14.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MKS will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

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