MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective lifted by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $135.00 to $200.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective points to a potential downside of 22.86% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.46.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $259.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $204.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.92. MKS has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91. The company has a market cap of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MKS will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,752,097 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $959,477,000 after acquiring an additional 295,480 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in MKS by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,321,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $163,609,000 after purchasing an additional 94,692 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 30.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $156,602,000 after purchasing an additional 297,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,108 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $125,025,000 after purchasing an additional 35,065 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 79.3% in the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 991,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $98,495,000 after purchasing an additional 438,338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and segment strength — MKS reported $1.03B in Q4 revenue (+10% YoY) with Electronics & Packaging up ~19%, showing demand strength in key end markets that supports higher earnings power. MKS Inc. (MKSI) Reports $1.03B Q4 2025 Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $305 and keeps an overweight rating — a bullish analyst move that likely boosted investor confidence and helped lift the stock. JPMorgan raises MKSI price target
• Positive Sentiment: Needham increased its target to $300 and maintains a buy rating — another bullish signal adding upward pressure. Needham raises MKSI price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target to $255 but kept an equal‑weight rating — a modestly constructive update, though its PT sits near the stock price and signals limited upside. Wells Fargo raises MKSI price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript is available for detail seekers — useful for judging management tone on orders, backlog and guidance. MKS Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss — Q4 EPS $2.47 vs. consensus $2.51 (miss by $0.04). The slight miss tempered the rally and left some investors wanting a larger beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed/contrarian analyst views: Goldman Sachs raised its price target (to $200) but maintains a sell rating, signaling that some firms still see meaningful downside — this contributes to mixed market reaction. Goldman raises PT but keeps sell rating
• Negative Sentiment: Investor disappointment / short‑term selling pressure — stories about the stock gapping down and falling after the print reflect that some traders sought a larger beat, creating intraday swings despite underlying revenue strength. MKS shares gap down following weak earnings MKS stock falls; investors wanted larger beat

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.