MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen lowered MKS from a “strong-buy” to a “buy,” though other recent analyst actions were mostly positive and the stock’s consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with an average target price of $318.77.
• MKS reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.30 versus the $2.00 estimate and revenue of $1.08 billion, up 15.2% year over year; the company also guided Q2 2026 EPS to $2.60-$3.20.
• The stock was trading up 2.4% at $320.62, near its 52-week high of $326.83, while insiders have been selling shares and institutional investors continue to hold the vast majority of the company.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $318.77.

MKS Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $320.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS has a 52 week low of $80.22 and a 52 week high of $326.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 67.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $266.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.17.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS will post 11.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,163,117.49. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.99, for a total transaction of $446,586.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,775 shares in the company, valued at $3,118,127.25. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,313 shares of company stock worth $6,253,264 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter worth $9,062,000. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its position in MKS by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 8,105 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter worth $92,000. Anson Funds Management LP purchased a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter worth $3,792,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in MKS by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 30,370 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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