MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given New $400.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective increased by Cantor Fitzgerald from $300.00 to $400.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

MKSI has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Research raised MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.77.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKS stock opened at $278.45 on Wednesday. MKS has a 52 week low of $67.35 and a 52 week high of $289.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.73. The firm has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 63.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MKS will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,931.40. This trade represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 2,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total value of $523,845.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,640 shares in the company, valued at $933,332.40. This represents a 35.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,880,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in MKS by 159.7% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 839,773 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $134,196,000 after acquiring an additional 516,409 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in MKS by 9,165.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $55,232,000 after acquiring an additional 441,432 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,249,000 after acquiring an additional 340,645 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.