MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Raised to $325.00

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $300.00 to $325.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.45% from the stock’s current price.

MKSI has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho set a $360.00 price objective on MKS in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $383.57.

MKS Trading Up 5.8%

Shares of MKSI stock traded up $16.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $308.20. 425,856 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,404,997. The firm has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.98. MKS has a fifty-two week low of $97.30 and a fifty-two week high of $447.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $289.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.11.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 10.15%.The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MKS will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total value of $826,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,341 shares in the company, valued at $5,400,700.50. The trade was a 13.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,322.35. This represents a 17.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,406 shares of company stock valued at $17,577,866 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at $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.