MKS Inc. $MKSI Position Increased by Old West Investment Management LLC

Old West Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 133.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,849 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 9,055 shares during the quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in shares of MKS during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $243.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $186.29 and its 200-day moving average is $145.03. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $246.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.95.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $988.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $963.87 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.72 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MKS from $187.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) designs, manufactures and markets technology solutions that enable advanced processes in a variety of high‐technology and industrial markets. The company’s core offerings include vacuum and gas delivery systems, pressure and flow measurement instruments, optical metrology tools, photonics subsystems and critical components for manufacturing processes. These products support the precise control and monitoring needs of semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, life and health sciences, and research applications.

The company’s product portfolio features mass flow controllers, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, gas purity monitors, laser-based metrology systems and photonic devices such as lasers and detectors.