Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 30,000 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Calamos Advisors LLC lowered its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC's holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $3,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in MKS Instruments by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,921 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,288,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in MKS Instruments by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 18,100 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,968,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in MKS Instruments by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 772 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 5.2% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,670 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other news, 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 transaction of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.75.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKSI stock traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $109.38. 652,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,865. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.54 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $111.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.78. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 243.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. MKS Instruments's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments 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.