MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective lifted by Needham & Company LLC from $260.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.83% from the company’s previous close.

MKSI has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.17.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $250.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.29, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.95. MKS has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $201.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.11.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a return on equity of 21.30% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,011,514.03. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 3.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,170 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 139.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,154 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of MKS during the second quarter worth about $527,000. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 24.8% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 22,297 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,234,000 after acquiring an additional 4,434 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at approximately $336,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MKS

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.