What Do Hedge Funds Think of MKS Instruments, Inc. (MKSI)?

Before putting in our own effort and resources into finding a good investment, we can quickly utilize hedge fund expertise to give us a quick glimpse of whether that stock could make for a good addition to our portfolios. The odds are not exactly stacked in investors’ favor when it comes to beating the market, as evidenced by the fact that less than 49% of the stocks in the S&P 500 did so during the 12-month period ending October 30. However, 63% of hedge funds’ top 30 stock picks from the index did beat the market, and returned nearly twice as much on average as the index. Thus, we can see that the tireless research and efforts of hedge funds to identify winning stocks can work to our advantage when we know how to use the data. While not all of their picks will be winners, our odds are much better following their best stock picks than trying to go it alone.

Is MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) ready to rally soon? The best stock pickers are becoming hopeful. The number of long hedge fund positions moved up by 1 recently. MKSI was in 23 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. There were 22 hedge funds in our database with MKSI positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare MKSI to other stocks including Lexmark International Inc (NYSE:LXK), Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSOD), and The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) to get a better sense of its popularity.

Keeping this in mind, we’re going to take a peek at the recent action encompassing MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI).

What have hedge funds been doing with MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)?

Heading into Q4, a total of 23 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 5% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

According to publicly available hedge fund and institutional investor holdings data compiled by Insider Monkey, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates has the largest position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI), worth close to $213.7 million, accounting for 1.1% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Shannon River Fund Management, led by Spencer M. Waxman, holding a $23.9 million position; the fund has 4.4% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other peers that are bullish comprise Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management, Lee Munder’s Lee Munder Capital Group and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. Hutchin Hill Capital, managed by Neil Chriss, established the biggest position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI). Hutchin Hill Capital had $2.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management also initiated a $0.3 million position during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is Mike Vranos’ Ellington.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Lexmark International Inc (NYSE:LXK), Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSOD), The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE), and Grand Canyon Education Inc (NASDAQ:LOPE). This group of stocks’ market values resemble MKSI’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 18.5 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $270 million. That figure was $350 million in MKSI’s case. Lexmark International Inc (NYSE:LXK) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE) is the least popular one with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.