Citigroup Upgrades MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) to Buy

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $130.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.05% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.83.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 2.1 %

MKSI stock opened at $108.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 240.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.66. MKS Instruments has a 52 week low of $95.71 and a 52 week high of $147.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.21 and a 200 day moving average of $114.20.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Instruments will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total value of $34,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,146,048.40. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total value of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.9% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in MKS Instruments by 2.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 5,035 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,942 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.