Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $210.00 to $260.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark lifted their price target on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $215.00 price objective on MKS in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.75.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $223.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.81. MKS has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $233.11. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.92.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $988.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $963.87 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 20.80%. MKS’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.72 EPS. MKS has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.930-2.610 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in MKS in the third quarter worth $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages boosted ratings and price targets (buy/overweight calls and higher targets), increasing investor demand — notable raises include Cantor Fitzgerald to $300, Needham to $260, Morgan Stanley to $258, Bank of America to $255 and TD Cowen to $230. These upgrades are the primary catalyst for buying interest today. Cantor Fitzgerald Boosts MKS Price Target Needham raise Additional coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached new highs intraday / 52‑week/all‑time highs following the analyst activity and optimism around upcoming results — momentum itself can attract more buyers and short‑covering. Investing.com all‑time high 52‑week high after upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS updated Q4 guidance: revenue guidance came in above consensus (roughly ~$1.0B vs. ~$994M est.), while EPS guidance was effectively in line or marginally below consensus — mixed fundamentals that support revenue momentum but leave EPS visibility somewhat uncertain. Seeking Alpha: guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS plans meetings with existing and prospective lenders about a comprehensive capital‑structure refinancing — could reduce financing costs or extend maturities (positive long term) but also signals elevated leverage attention in the near term. TipRanks: refinancing
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $210 but kept an “equal weight” rating, implying limited upside from current levels and offering a more cautious stance than other brokers — this could cap some of the rally if investors favor that view. TickerReport / Wells Fargo Benzinga note

MKS Company Profile

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.