MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Raised to $175.00

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $150.00 to $175.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

MKSI has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on MKS from $170.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.18.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $203.99 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $162.88 and its 200-day moving average is $132.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $13.70 billion, a PE ratio of 49.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.92. MKS has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $211.08.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. MKS had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The business had revenue of $988.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $963.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.930-2.610 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. MKS’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,011,514.03. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.