MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $135.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sell” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential downside of 19.68% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.00.

MKS Price Performance

MKS stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $249.02. 412,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,656,499. The business’s 50-day moving average is $201.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86. MKS has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $269.91.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released 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 21.30%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $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. Equities research analysts expect that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,011,514.03. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in MKS in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in MKS by 74.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Key MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $300 and kept a Buy rating, citing the company’s secular exposure and strong end‑market positioning — this gives upside from current levels. Benzinga The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: MKS hit a new 52‑week high on the back of strong revenue growth and investor enthusiasm earlier in the week, signaling continued institutional interest. Article
• Positive Sentiment: The company completed a refinancing that improves its debt profile and raised the dividend — a shareholder‑friendly move that can support valuation over time. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results: revenue grew ~10.5% to ~$1.03B and GAAP/non‑GAAP profits rose year‑over‑year, but non‑GAAP EPS of $2.47 missed consensus by a few cents. Overall operating performance mixed. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance: the company gave an EPS range of $1.72–$2.28 (vs. consensus ~ $1.88) and revenue roughly $1.04B ± $40M; management said guidance factors in current tariff uncertainty. Investors will focus on where guidance lands within that wide range. Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares pulled back after the print — traders cited the EPS miss, weaker operating cash flow and tariff/repricing caveats, plus a classic “sell‑the‑news” unwind from recent record highs. QuiverQuant
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market disappointment narrative: some coverage noted investors were looking for a larger beat and clearer margin/cash‑flow upside; media pieces highlighted the miss and called out potential margin headwinds from tariffs. MSN

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.