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

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its target price raised by Needham & Company LLC from $360.00 to $390.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 27.87% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 target price on MKS in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.00.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $304.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $347.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.11. MKS has a 12-month low of $97.30 and a 12-month high of $447.62. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 48.64, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that MKS will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total transaction of $688,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. The trade was a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total transaction of $767,269.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,406 shares of company stock worth $17,577,866 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,254,049 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $200,438,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 982,643 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $97,635,000 after acquiring an additional 301,223 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MKS during the 4th quarter worth $147,453,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,249,000 after acquiring an additional 340,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in MKS by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,654 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $139,131,000 after purchasing an additional 24,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

More MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raise price targets: Citigroup lifted its target from $425 to $430 and initiated a Buy rating; JPMorgan raised its target from $365 to $380 and maintained an Overweight rating. Needham also increased its target to $390 from $360 and retained a Buy rating. Citigroup analyst action JPMorgan analyst action Needham analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: MKS reported adjusted earnings of $3.30 per share, above the approximately $2.94 consensus estimate and up from $1.77 a year earlier. Revenue reached $1.25 billion, exceeding forecasts of roughly $1.20 billion and rising 28.3% year over year. Management’s third-quarter guidance also supports an upbeat near-term view. MKS Q2 earnings beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI demand improves visibility: MKS is ramping semiconductor and advanced-packaging capacity to meet AI-related demand, potentially supporting growth visibility into 2027 and strengthening the long-term investment case. MKSI Q2 earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages collectively assign MKS a “Moderate Buy” recommendation, while Wells Fargo raised its target from $300 to $325 but retained an Equal Weight rating, indicating a more measured view. MKS consensus recommendation Wells Fargo analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: The AI-related capacity expansion is creating near-term margin pressure, a risk that could limit immediate earnings leverage even as demand prospects improve.

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.