JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $305.00 to $365.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

MKSI has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $354.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday. 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 report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.23.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $313.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.60. The company has a market cap of $21.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.98. MKS has a 1 year low of $78.62 and a 1 year high of $326.83.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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, sell-side analysts predict that MKS will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,931.40. This represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,721,291.92. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,434,000 after buying an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of MKS by 3,545.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $14,036,000 after buying an additional 137,392 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of MKS by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on MKS Inc. to $355 from $290 and kept a buy rating, implying more upside from current levels. Citigroup price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target to $365 from $305 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock. JPMorgan price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Needham increased its target to $360 from $300 and reiterated a buy rating, adding to the list of analysts turning more constructive on MKS. Needham price target raise

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.