Bailard Inc. Buys Shares of 2,310 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,310 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in MKS by 13.1% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 58,933 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,856,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of MKS by 59.2% during the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 10,677 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 3,972 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,897 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 2,974 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,681,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 18,963 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on MKS from $210.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $227.75.

Key MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets, signaling stronger analyst conviction — TD Cowen bumped its target to $230. MKS Inc. price target raised to $230 from $200 at TD Cowen
• Positive Sentiment: Large upward revisions from other firms increased bullish interest (Needham to $260, Bank of America to $255, Morgan Stanley to $258, Cantor Fitzgerald to $300), suggesting analysts see meaningful upside vs. earlier levels. Analyst price target coverage (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: MKS raised its Q4 guidance ahead of earnings (Needham also raised its target after the guidance update), which supports expectations for continued revenue/EPS strength. MKS increases Q4 guidance ahead of earnings; Needham hikes price target
• Positive Sentiment: Equity research pieces highlight MKS’s momentum and strong earnings-surprise track record, which can support further upside if the company sustains beat-and-raise results. Will MKS (MKSI) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: Not all upgrades are uniformly bullish: Wells Fargo raised its target to $210 but kept an “equal weight” rating, implying limited near-term upside from its view. Wells Fargo price target note
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target dispersion and a premium valuation (market commentary points to a high P/E) create short-term volatility; despite bullish reports, these mixed signals likely contributed to profit-taking and the intraday pullback.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $217.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 52.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.92. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $233.11.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

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

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.