MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Down 6% – Here’s Why

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) dropped 6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $390.61 and last traded at $386.4450. Approximately 214,072 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,374,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $411.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MKSI. Citigroup lifted their price target on MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.07.

MKS Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $335.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.78.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total transaction of $826,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,341 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.94, for a total transaction of $1,393,338.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,817,513.66. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $17,446,108. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter valued at about $764,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth about $3,618,000. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth about $27,965,000. Blue Grotto Capital LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 211,848 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,220,000 after acquiring an additional 24,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth about $3,764,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by 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.