MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $390.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

MKSI has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 target price on MKS in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MKS from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.43.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $176.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $241.71 and a 200 day moving average of $277.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.14. MKS has a 12-month low of $134.74 and a 12-month high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. MKS had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.95%.

MKS declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the scientific and technical instruments company to buy up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

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 shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 18,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,341.20. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at $231,673,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,866,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $128,303,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in MKS by 1,742.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 442,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $117,362,000 after buying an additional 418,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in MKS during the second quarter worth $77,043,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.18 topped estimates of about $3.63, while revenue of $1.41 billion beat expectations of $1.36 billion and rose 43% year over year. MKS Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited AI-fueled semiconductor demand and signaled continued growth; fourth-quarter adjusted EPS guidance is $4.62–$5.38. This outlook may support expectations for further earnings momentum. Earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: MKS authorized up to $500 million in share repurchases—up to 3.6% of shares—and declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend, adding shareholder returns to the investment case. Repurchase and dividend announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target to $300 from $390, indicating a more restrained valuation view, although it maintained a Buy rating. Needham rating information

About MKS

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.