Cognex (CGNX) Competitors

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) and Cognex (NASDAQ:CGNX) are both mid-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, MKSI or CGNX?

MKS has higher revenue and earnings than Cognex. MKS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cognex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MKS	$3.59B	2.00	$190M	$3.35	31.78
Cognex	$914.52M	6.30	$106.17M	$0.68	50.50

Do analysts recommend MKSI or CGNX?

MKS presently has a consensus target price of $118.89, suggesting a potential upside of 11.69%. Cognex has a consensus target price of $40.77, suggesting a potential upside of 18.72%. Given Cognex's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cognex is more favorable than MKS.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MKS	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Cognex	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.53

Is MKSI or CGNX more profitable?

Cognex has a net margin of 12.80% compared to MKS's net margin of 6.21%. MKS's return on equity of 20.67% beat Cognex's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MKS	6.21%	20.67%	5.49%
Cognex	12.80%	6.37%	4.81%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in MKSI or CGNX?

99.8% of MKS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of Cognex shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of MKS shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Cognex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer MKSI or CGNX?

In the previous week, MKS had 5 more articles in the media than Cognex. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for MKS and 12 mentions for Cognex. Cognex's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat MKS's score of 0.69 indicating that Cognex is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MKS	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cognex	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, MKSI or CGNX?

MKS has a beta of 1.88, indicating that its stock price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cognex has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MKSI or CGNX a better dividend stock?

MKS pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cognex pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. MKS pays out 26.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cognex pays out 47.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cognex has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Cognex is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

MKS beats Cognex on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.