MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Raised to $255.00

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $210.00 to $255.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Benchmark upped their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research raised MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.46.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $259.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $204.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.37. MKS has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $269.91.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued 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 is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s payout ratio is 20.14%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MKS by 4.0% in the third 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 buying an additional 295,480 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 94,692 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $156,602,000 after purchasing an additional 297,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $125,025,000 after purchasing an additional 35,065 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $98,495,000 after purchasing an additional 438,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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

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.