MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Down 7.5% – What’s Next?

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)’s share price was down 7.5% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $244.17 and last traded at $247.1930. 110,837 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 1,380,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lowered their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.86.

MKS Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $302.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $296.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.95%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. This represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 10,757 shares of company stock worth $3,227,146 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in MKS by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) provides instruments, systems and process-control solutions used by manufacturers and research organizations. Its technologies help measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas composition, temperature and other conditions involved in advanced manufacturing and laboratory processes.

The company offers vacuum components and systems, gas and vapor delivery equipment, pressure and flow controllers, process-monitoring instruments, analytical solutions, RF and microwave power systems, plasma-generation technologies, and materials-processing equipment.