Morgan Stanley Increases MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target to $374.00

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price target upped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $354.00 to $374.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 23.36% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on MKS from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.77.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI stock opened at $303.17 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.56 and a 200 day moving average of $212.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 63.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS has a 52 week low of $80.22 and a 52 week high of $326.83.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. MKS’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MKS will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.44, for a total value of $71,832.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,468,668.72. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.20, for a total value of $312,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,739,555. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,258 shares of company stock valued at $19,440,224. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in MKS by 1.1% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of MKS by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 530 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in MKS by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 898 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in 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.