MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given New $430.00 Price Target at Citigroup

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective boosted by Citigroup from $425.00 to $430.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MKSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve 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, MKS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.00.

MKS Trading Up 4.7%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $304.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $347.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $289.11. MKS has a one year low of $97.30 and a one year high of $447.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.64, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MKS will post 11.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. MKS’s payout ratio is 15.95%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, CFO Ramakumar Mayampurath sold 8,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total value of $2,779,378.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $315.48. This represents a 99.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total transaction of $6,668,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 54,406 shares of company stock worth $17,577,866 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 560.0% during 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of MKS by 616.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the second quarter worth $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MKS News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raise price targets: Citigroup lifted its target from $425 to $430 and initiated a Buy rating; JPMorgan raised its target from $365 to $380 and maintained an Overweight rating. Needham also increased its target to $390 from $360 and retained a Buy rating. Citigroup analyst action JPMorgan analyst action Needham analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: MKS reported adjusted earnings of $3.30 per share, above the approximately $2.94 consensus estimate and up from $1.77 a year earlier. Revenue reached $1.25 billion, exceeding forecasts of roughly $1.20 billion and rising 28.3% year over year. Management’s third-quarter guidance also supports an upbeat near-term view. MKS Q2 earnings beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI demand improves visibility: MKS is ramping semiconductor and advanced-packaging capacity to meet AI-related demand, potentially supporting growth visibility into 2027 and strengthening the long-term investment case. MKSI Q2 earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages collectively assign MKS a “Moderate Buy” recommendation, while Wells Fargo raised its target from $300 to $325 but retained an Equal Weight rating, indicating a more measured view. MKS consensus recommendation Wells Fargo analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: The AI-related capacity expansion is creating near-term margin pressure, a risk that could limit immediate earnings leverage even as demand prospects improve.

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.