MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) was upgraded by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.07.

MKS Stock Up 7.1%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $445.50 on Tuesday. MKS has a 1-year low of $88.49 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $329.19 and a 200 day moving average of $257.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.09 billion, a PE ratio of 93.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of MKS 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,400,700.50. This trade represents a 13.27% 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 this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total value of $3,154,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 144,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,648,694.08. This represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $17,446,108 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

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