MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?
by Renee Jackson · The Cerbat GemMKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $271.97 and last traded at $270.3970, with a volume of 127809 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $263.25.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on MKS from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research raised MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.08.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MKS
MKS Stock Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 61.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.11.
MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. MKS’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.
MKS Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.88%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total value of $72,681.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,221,711.61. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,721,291.92. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 110.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,435 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 3,383 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 3,545.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,036,000 after acquiring an additional 137,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 115,590 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,485,000 after acquiring an additional 31,815 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.