MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Down 8.1% – Should You Sell?

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)’s share price fell 8.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $306.97 and last traded at $302.51. 241,697 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,354,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $329.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MKS from $355.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC increased 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.00.

MKS Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.18, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $351.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.14.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total transaction of $6,668,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. The trade was a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of MKS by 616.7% in 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. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.