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

Key Points

• 52-week high: MKS shares reached a new 52-week high of $296.22 (last ~ $293.33), while analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $280.77 and several firms raising targets to the $300–$310 range.
• Q4 results showed a slight EPS miss ($2.47 vs. $2.51) but revenue rose 10.5% to $1.03 billion, and management guided Q1 2026 EPS of $1.72–$2.28 with analysts forecasting about 9.89 EPS for the fiscal year.
• Insiders have sold 68,503 shares worth $17.29M in the past 90 days (insiders now own 0.57%), while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 ($1.00 annualized, ~0.3% yield).

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $296.22 and last traded at $293.3340, with a volume of 2341 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $291.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.77.

MKS Stock Down 1.1%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $246.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. MKS's payout ratio is 22.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,254 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,063,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,448,500. This trade represents a 7.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 2,043 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total transaction of $523,845.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $933,332.40. This trade represents a 35.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in MKS by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 530 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 1.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in MKS by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 898 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.