MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.30 EPS
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemMKS (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30, FiscalAI reports. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.88%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. MKS updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 2.600-3.200 EPS.
MKS Stock Up 6.1%
Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded up $18.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $319.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,100,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,581. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71. The company has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.74, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $205.60. MKS has a 12-month low of $78.62 and a 12-month high of $326.83.
MKS Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 22.88%.
Insider Activity
In other MKS news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $1,007,335.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. This represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,721,291.92. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter worth about $95,880,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 9,165.9% in 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 buying an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in MKS by 63.4% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,249,000 after buying an additional 340,645 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in MKS by 316.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 426,509 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $52,789,000 after acquiring an additional 324,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in MKS by 44.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 982,643 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $97,635,000 after acquiring an additional 301,223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
MKSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $354.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho set a $320.00 target price on MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.62.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MKS
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.