MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Down 6% – What’s Next?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MKS in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price target for the company. Mizuho set a $400.00 price target on MKS in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.07.

MKS Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $331.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $259.57. The company has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a PE ratio of 76.76, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total transaction of $688,695.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. The trade was a 17.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total transaction of $767,269.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $17,446,108. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 560.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 616.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in MKS by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 91 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.