MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $290.00 and last traded at $292.40, with a volume of 2031 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $280.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MKSI shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of MKS from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.77.

MKS Stock Up 0.1%

The firm has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 64.30, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.90. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $245.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,721,291.92. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.44, for a total transaction of $71,832.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,468,668.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $95,880,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in MKS by 159.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in MKS by 9,165.9% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MKS by 63.4% during the second 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 last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.