Morgan Stanley Increases MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target to $442.00

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $374.00 to $442.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on MKS from $400.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $400.00 target price on MKS in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $378.93.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock traded up $18.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $383.67. 138,288 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,332. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $335.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $262.50. The company has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.93. MKS has a 1 year low of $88.49 and a 1 year high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, CFO Ramakumar Mayampurath sold 8,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total value of $2,779,378.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $315.48. This represents a 99.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total transaction of $6,668,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. This represents a 49.98% 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 a total of 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in MKS in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 55.2% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 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.