MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Twelve of 16 analysts rate MKS a buy, one rates it a strong buy, two recommend holding, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is approximately $381.79.
• MKS exceeded second-quarter expectations and issued strong guidance: EPS reached $3.30 versus the $2.91 consensus, while revenue increased 28.3% year over year to $1.25 billion. Third-quarter revenue and EPS guidance also came in above analyst estimates.
• Valuation and insider selling remain risks: The stock trades at a P/E ratio of about 46.5, while insiders sold roughly 54,400 shares worth $17.6 million over the past 90 days, primarily through pre-arranged trading plans.

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $381.7857.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Key Stories Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter results exceeded expectations: MKS reported earnings of $3.30 per share versus the $2.91 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 28.3% year over year to $1.25 billion, ahead of the $1.20 billion forecast. Stronger demand across end markets and improved margins supported the performance. MKSI Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Increase Year Over Year
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued above-consensus third-quarter guidance: EPS is projected at $3.27-$3.89, compared with the $3.17 analyst estimate, and revenue is expected at approximately $1.3-$1.4 billion versus the $1.2 billion consensus. MKS Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $390 from $360 and assigned a Buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Benzinga analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.25 per share, equivalent to a $1.00 annualized payout and an approximately 0.3% yield. The dividend provides limited support for a growth-focused stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and valuation concerns may be offsetting the strong fundamentals: MKS trades well below several analyst targets but at a relatively demanding earnings multiple, leaving the shares vulnerable to selling after the results.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity is a potential confidence signal: Quiver reported 40 insider sales and no purchases during the past six months, although several transactions were conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

MKS Price Performance

MKS stock opened at $291.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 46.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.98. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $348.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.00. MKS has a one year low of $95.54 and a one year high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 10.15%.The company's revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS will post 11.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total transaction of $3,154,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,696 shares in the company, valued at $45,648,694.08. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. This trade represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,406 shares of company stock worth $17,577,866 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MKS by 47.5% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in MKS by 1.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $982,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in MKS by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 530 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 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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