Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $374.00 to $442.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MKS in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.93.

MKS Trading Down 7.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $26.90 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $341.16. 276,382 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,435. The company has a market capitalization of $23.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.93. MKS has a 52-week low of $88.49 and a 52-week high of $447.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $337.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.99.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MKS will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. This trade represents a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total transaction of $826,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,400,700.50. This represents a 13.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in MKS by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of MKS by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.