Cantor Fitzgerald has increased its price target for MKS Instruments (MKSI, Financial) to $120, up from the previous target of $110, while maintaining an Overweight rating on the stock. The firm regards MKS as a prime choice for investors, anticipating strong performance that could lead to better-than-expected results. Additionally, MKS is well-positioned to benefit from the initial stages of the NAND upgrade cycle, according to the analyst's report.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 12 analysts, the average target price for MKS Inc (MKSI, Financial) is $116.87 with a high estimate of $160.00 and a low estimate of $85.00. The average target implies an upside of 26.94% from the current price of $92.07. More detailed estimate data can be found on the MKS Inc (MKSI) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 14 brokerage firms, MKS Inc's (MKSI, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 2.0, indicating "Outperform" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for MKS Inc (MKSI, Financial) in one year is $105.61, suggesting a upside of 14.71% from the current price of $92.07. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the MKS Inc (MKSI) Summary page.
MKSI Key Business Developments
Release Date: May 08, 2025
- Revenue: $936 million, up 8% year-over-year.
- Gross Margin: 47.4%, at the high end of guidance.
- Net Earnings Per Share: $1.71, exceeding the high end of guidance.
- Semiconductor Revenue: $413 million, up 3% sequentially and 18% year-over-year.
- Electronics and Packaging Revenue: $253 million, up 22% year-over-year.
- Specialty Industrial Revenue: $270 million, down 13% year-over-year.
- Operating Income: $189 million, with an operating margin of 20.2%.
- Adjusted EBITDA: $236 million, with a margin of 25.2%.
- Net Interest Expenses: $45 million.
- Effective Tax Rate: 19.9%.
- Free Cash Flow: $123 million, over 100% of net earnings.
- Capital Expenditures: $18 million, slightly under 2% of revenue.
- Liquidity: $1.3 billion, including $655 million in cash and cash equivalents.
- Gross Debt: $4.6 billion, with a net leverage ratio of 4.2 times.
- Share Repurchase: Approximately 0.5 million shares repurchased.
- Dividend: $0.22 per share, totaling $15 million.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
- MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI, Financial) reported strong first-quarter revenue of $936 million, which was at the high end of their guidance.
- Gross margins were robust at 47.4%, also at the high end of expectations.
- Net earnings per diluted share of $1.71 exceeded the high end of guidance, reflecting strong operational performance.
- The semiconductor market showed improvement, with revenue up 18% year-over-year, driven by demand recovery in NAND, DRAM, and logic applications.
- Electronics and packaging revenue was up 22% year-over-year, with strong sales in flexible PCB drilling and chemistry equipment, indicating positive trends in AI applications.
Negative Points
- New trade policies have introduced uncertainty, potentially impacting margins due to tariffs.
- Specialty industrial revenue saw a decline of 13% year-over-year, with softness in the general industrial and automotive markets.
- The company anticipates a mid-single-digit sequential decline in electronics and packaging revenue in Q2 due to earlier pull-forward of flexible PCB drilling equipment purchases.
- Tariffs could impact gross margins by up to 100 basis points in the near term.
- The broader industrial market remains soft, with no significant improvement expected in the specialty industrial segment for Q2.
