MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Price Down 7.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) traded down 7.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $244.17 and last traded at $247.1930. Approximately 110,837 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 1,380,603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MKSI shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.86.

MKS Trading Down 3.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.80. The stock has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is 15.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,494.38. This represents a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at $4,729,341.20. This represents a 1.57% 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. Insiders sold 10,757 shares of company stock worth $3,227,146 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of MKS during the second quarter worth $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in MKS by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MKS

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) provides instruments, systems and process-control solutions used by manufacturers and research organizations. Its technologies help measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas composition, temperature and other conditions involved in advanced manufacturing and laboratory processes.

The company offers vacuum components and systems, gas and vapor delivery equipment, pressure and flow controllers, process-monitoring instruments, analytical solutions, RF and microwave power systems, plasma-generation technologies, and materials-processing equipment.