MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $368.06, but opened at $342.86. MKS shares last traded at $342.2910, with a volume of 276,382 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKSI. Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.00.

MKS Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $339.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.76. The company has a market cap of $23.60 billion, a PE ratio of 73.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%.MKS’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total transaction of $6,668,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. This trade represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630.46. The trade was 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 quarter, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in MKS by 3.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 3,545.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,036,000 after purchasing an additional 137,392 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the second quarter worth $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in MKS by 22.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.