MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy”

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MKSI. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.77.

MKS Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of MKS stock opened at $320.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.08, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.11. MKS has a one year low of $80.22 and a one year high of $326.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.17.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. MKS’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MKS will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,931.40. The trade was a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Cannone III sold 1,350 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.40, for a total transaction of $409,590.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,364,699.60. This trade represents a 14.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,313 shares of company stock valued at $6,253,264. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in MKS by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in MKS by 74.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in MKS during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.