MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $423.21 and last traded at $427.00, with a volume of 4432 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $416.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. KeyCorp upped their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $374.07.

MKS Stock Up 5.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.51, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $325.85 and a 200 day moving average of $255.89.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,322.35. This trade represents a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $17,446,108. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth $95,880,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in MKS by 159.7% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 839,773 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $134,196,000 after purchasing an additional 516,409 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in MKS by 9,165.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,232,000 after purchasing an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 63.4% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $87,249,000 after purchasing an additional 340,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.