Cognex Corp (CGNX) is overvalued and MKS Inc (MKSI) is undervalued.
Against our estimates of intrinsic value, MKSI trades at the wider discount: a margin of safety of +49%, against -219% for CGNX.
Values as of the 22 Sept 2026 close.
Discounting its cash flows at 11.6% (average of 3 methods) values the shares at $18.46; the price of $58.97 is 219% above that value, and 67% of that value comes from beyond year five.
Leak Score 27/100 on 3 of 12 signals
A 8.8x revenue multiple, adjusted for growth and margin, values the shares at $512.86; the price of $260.37 is 49% below that value.
Leak Score 54/100 on 3 of 12 signals
| Metric | CGNX | MKSI |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Overvalued | Undervalued |
| Price | $58.97 | $260.37 |
| Intrinsic value | $18.46 | $512.86 |
| Margin of safety | -219% | +49% |
| Leak Score | 27/100 (3/12) | 54/100 (3/12) |
| Market cap | $9.9B | $17.6B |
| Revenue growth, 5 years | 4.2% | 11.0% |
| Operating margin | 21.9% | 16.7% |
| Net margin | 16.1% | 10.1% |
| Return on equity | 11.2% | 15.9% |
| Debt to equity | 0.04 | 1.40 |
| P/E | 57.1x | 41.5x |
| Forward P/E | 29.4x | 14.9x |
| P/B | 6.1x | 5.9x |
| Dividend yield | 0.6% | 0.4% |