Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised its price target on MKS from $374 to $442 and kept an “overweight” rating, implying about 15% upside from the previous close.
• Several other analysts also turned more bullish, including Bank of America, KeyCorp, and BMO Capital Markets, with MKS now carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $378.93.
• The stock was up 5% on the day after trading as high as $383.67, while the company also reported strong recent results, including Q1 earnings of $2.30 per share versus $2.00 expected and revenue above estimates.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $374.00 to $442.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the scientific and technical instruments company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 15.20% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MKSI. Bank of America upped their price objective on MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $453.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $378.93.

MKS Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of MKSI traded up $18.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $383.67. The company had a trading volume of 138,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,380,332. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $335.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $262.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.11. MKS has a 1 year low of $88.49 and a 1 year high of $447.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.93.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MKS will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total transaction of $767,269.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total value of $3,154,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,696 shares in the company, valued at $45,648,694.08. This trade represents a 6.46% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $17,446,108. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in MKS in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in MKS by 560.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 616.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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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