FormFactor (FORM) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility and risk, FORM or MKSI?

FormFactor has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MKS Instruments has a beta of 1.84, suggesting that its share price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer FORM or MKSI?

In the previous week, MKS Instruments had 5 more articles in the media than FormFactor. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for MKS Instruments and 6 mentions for FormFactor. FormFactor's average media sentiment score of 1.51 beat MKS Instruments' score of 1.19 indicating that FormFactor is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
FormFactor	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
MKS Instruments	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate FORM or MKSI?

FormFactor presently has a consensus target price of $42.71, suggesting a potential upside of 24.35%. MKS Instruments has a consensus target price of $132.64, suggesting a potential upside of 41.48%. Given MKS Instruments' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MKS Instruments is more favorable than FormFactor.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FormFactor	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.29
MKS Instruments	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.92

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FORM or MKSI?

MKS Instruments received 84 more outperform votes than FormFactor when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 71.80% of users gave MKS Instruments an outperform vote while only 68.06% of users gave FormFactor an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
FormFactor	Outperform Votes 471 68.06%	Underperform Votes 221 31.94%
MKS Instruments	Outperform Votes 555 71.80%	Underperform Votes 218 28.20%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FORM or MKSI?

98.8% of FormFactor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of MKS Instruments shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of FormFactor shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of MKS Instruments shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FORM or MKSI?

MKS Instruments has higher revenue and earnings than FormFactor. MKS Instruments is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FormFactor, 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
FormFactor	$766.23M	3.46	$69.61M	$0.69	49.78
MKS Instruments	$3.65B	1.73	$190M	$3.35	27.99

Is FORM or MKSI more profitable?

FormFactor has a net margin of 9.12% compared to MKS Instruments' net margin of 5.30%. MKS Instruments' return on equity of 18.94% beat FormFactor's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FormFactor	9.12%	5.93%	4.89%
MKS Instruments	5.30%	18.94%	5.02%

Summary

MKS Instruments beats FormFactor on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.