Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes $281,000 Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,154 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 143.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,141,676 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $282,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260,792 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,171,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 239.2% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 247,695 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,344,000 after buying an additional 174,675 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 41.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 432,858 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $56,523,000 after acquiring an additional 126,200 shares during the period. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its position in MKS Instruments by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 545,516 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,117,000 after acquiring an additional 90,956 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on MKS Instruments from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,805.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.71, for a total transaction of $213,678.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,325 shares of company stock valued at $276,435. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $110.31 on Monday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.44 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $114.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.58. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of -4.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.64.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $887.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $866.38 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 0.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is currently -3.30%.

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.