MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $273.4615.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

Key Stories Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue growth: MKS reported Q4 2025 revenue of about $1.03B, up ~10% YoY, driven by a 19% increase in the Electronics & Packaging segment — evidence of continued end‑market demand. MKS Inc. Reports $1.03B Q4 Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lifting targets and upbeat coverage: Several firms raised price targets (Needham to $300 buy; JPMorgan to $305 overweight; Wells Fargo to $255 equal weight), signaling continued analyst conviction on longer‑term growth despite short‑term noise. Needham price target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: 52‑week high and subsequent pullback: The stock briefly hit a new 52‑week high after the results, which can provoke “sell‑the‑news” profit taking independent of fundamentals. MKS Sets New 52-Week High
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings materials available: Investors and models are digesting the full earnings call transcript and presentation for color on guidance assumptions and margin drivers. Earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss and margin pressure: Non‑GAAP EPS came in at $2.47 vs. consensus ~$2.51 (small miss) and commentary flagged margin pressure and weaker cash flow, which pushed some traders to sell into the print. Zacks: Earnings Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Tariff and margin caveats in guidance: Management included the impact of U.S. import tariffs and potential retaliatory actions in Q1 guidance, and guided gross margin around ~46%—the tariff uncertainty is being priced as a margin risk. QuiverQuant: Tariff caveats
• Negative Sentiment: Investor expectations and insider sales: Commentary noted investors were looking for a larger beat; recent insider sales and some institutional rebalancing add to near‑term selling pressure. MSN: Investors wanted larger beat

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in MKS by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in MKS by 616.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS by 74.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $249.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.00, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. MKS has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $269.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.77.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

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.