4,545 Shares in MKS Inc. $MKSI Bought by Archer Investment Corp

Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,545 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,652,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter worth about $1,275,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter worth about $455,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $17,056,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the second quarter worth approximately $279,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised multiple earnings estimates. Zacks increased its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $3.60 from $3.22 and its FY2026 estimate to $12.76 from $11.86. Estimates were also raised for FY2027 to $16.52 from $15.00 and FY2028 to $20.10 from $18.24. Several quarterly forecasts through 2028 were increased as well, signaling stronger expected earnings momentum. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for MKS
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets imply substantial potential upside. The average analyst target cited by Zacks indicates 49.8% potential appreciation, although the article cautions that price targets are not always reliable. The favorable earnings-revision trend could support the stock if it translates into stronger results. Wall Street Analysts Think MKS Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its MKS price target to $330. The target reduction is a negative signal, but the revised target remains well above the level at which the stock recently traded. Mizuho Lowers MKS Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO sold company shares. CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee reportedly sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3 million. Insider selling can raise concerns about management’s view of near-term valuation or performance, even though it does not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. MKS CEO Sells Shares

MKS Stock Down 5.6%

MKSI opened at $255.76 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $330.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.54. The stock has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $97.50 and a 52 week high of $447.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $630.46. The trade was a 99.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total value of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. This trade represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,891 shares of company stock valued at $3,919,127 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $382.86.

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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