MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $210.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 2.81% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Benchmark upped their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.42.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $248.03. The stock had a trading volume of 222,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,650,100. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.81. MKS has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $269.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 56.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.11.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. MKS’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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MKS will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MKS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter valued at about $95,880,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 146.4% during the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 912,380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $90,654,000 after acquiring an additional 542,094 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its holdings in MKS by 159.7% in the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 839,773 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $134,196,000 after acquiring an additional 516,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 9,165.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,232,000 after purchasing an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target to $300 and kept a Buy rating, citing the company’s secular exposure and strong end‑market positioning — this gives upside from current levels. Benzinga The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: MKS hit a new 52‑week high on the back of strong revenue growth and investor enthusiasm earlier in the week, signaling continued institutional interest. Article
• Positive Sentiment: The company completed a refinancing that improves its debt profile and raised the dividend — a shareholder‑friendly move that can support valuation over time. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results: revenue grew ~10.5% to ~$1.03B and GAAP/non‑GAAP profits rose year‑over‑year, but non‑GAAP EPS of $2.47 missed consensus by a few cents. Overall operating performance mixed. MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance: the company gave an EPS range of $1.72–$2.28 (vs. consensus ~ $1.88) and revenue roughly $1.04B ± $40M; management said guidance factors in current tariff uncertainty. Investors will focus on where guidance lands within that wide range. Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares pulled back after the print — traders cited the EPS miss, weaker operating cash flow and tariff/repricing caveats, plus a classic “sell‑the‑news” unwind from recent record highs. QuiverQuant
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market disappointment narrative: some coverage noted investors were looking for a larger beat and clearer margin/cash‑flow upside; media pieces highlighted the miss and called out potential margin headwinds from tariffs. MSN

MKS Company Profile

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.