MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• MKS shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $333.80 after a 4.1% move higher, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is generally upbeat: multiple firms raised price targets, and MarketBeat reports an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $318.77.
• The company posted a solid quarter, with EPS of $2.30 beating estimates and revenue of $1.08 billion topping forecasts, while also issuing Q2 guidance of $2.60 to $3.20 EPS.

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $333.80 and last traded at $329.44, with a volume of 85506 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $320.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MKSI shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $318.77.

MKS Trading Up 4.1%

The company has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $268.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Peter Cannone III sold 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.40, for a total value of $409,590.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,699.60. This represents a 14.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.94, for a total value of $1,393,338.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 49,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,817,513.66. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 13,313 shares of company stock worth $3,713,564 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in MKS by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in MKS by 74.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in MKS during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 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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