MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Up 11.9% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) shot up 11.9% on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $93.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. MKS Instruments traded as high as $90.54 and last traded at $89.55. 574,083 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 1,069,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.05.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS Instruments

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 66.7% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.14. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments 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.