Cantor Fitzgerald Increases MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target to $400.00

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on MKS from $300 to $400 and kept an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 43.5% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst consensus is a Moderate Buy with a mean price target of $280.77, but views vary widely (1 Strong Buy, 11 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Sell) and recent targets range from about $230 to $320+.
• MKS reported quarterly EPS of $2.47 (missed by $0.04) and revenue of $1.03B (beat), set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of 1.72–2.28, and has seen recent insider selling while institutional ownership sits near 99.8%.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $300.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would indicate a potential upside of 43.52% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on MKSI. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on MKS from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.77.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKS stock opened at $278.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.16, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.90. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $243.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. MKS has a 12 month low of $67.35 and a 12 month high of $289.49.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions 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 Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total transaction of $72,681.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,221,711.61. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 in the last quarter. 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 made changes to their positions in MKSI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MKS in the fourth quarter valued at $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at about $95,880,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in MKS by 159.7% in the 4th 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% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,232,000 after buying an additional 441,432 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $87,249,000 after buying an additional 340,645 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

About MKS

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.

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