MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $187.55 and last traded at $187.64, with a volume of 30813 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $186.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.55.

MKS Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $159.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.91, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.92.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. MKS had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The business had revenue of $988.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $963.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The firm’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. Equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in MKS by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.