AMETEK, Inc.
Orin's own judgment of how firmly the evidence points one way — not the chance the price goes up.
AMETEK's operational momentum is real—Q2 2026 revenue growth accelerated to 15.0% YoY with FY2025 operating margin at 26.2% and $1.67B in free cash flow—but the stock's PE of 36.50 sits at a 15.2% premium to the peer median of 31.68 while its price-to-sales of 7.31 is 134.7% above the peer median of 3.11, leaving little room for error.
The recently completed $5.0B all-cash Indicor Instrumentation acquisition adds integration risk and balance-sheet pressure, and a GuruFocus DCF analysis published September 16, 2026 pegs fair value at $158 versus the current close of $250.74. Bullish technicals (price above both the 50-day MA of $242.58 and 200-day MA of $229.04, MACD histogram positive at 1.89) and improving smart money sentiment to 0.06 as of the quarter ended 30 Jun support holding, but net insider selling of -$24.3M over 24 months and the stretched valuation temper conviction.
What could go wrong
- Valuation compression. PS ratio of 7.31 is 134.7% above the peer median of 3.11, and a September 2026 DCF analysis suggests fair value of $158 versus the current price of $250.74.
- Indicor integration risk. The $5.0B all-cash acquisition completed August 26, 2026 is large relative to AMETEK's total debt of $2.34B and equity of $10.63B as of FY2025, adding leverage and execution uncertainty.
- Persistent insider selling. Over the trailing 24 months insiders net sold 185,831 shares for -$24.3M, including option exercises with same-day sales by segment president Hermance in August 2026.
- Growth deceleration. FY2025 revenue growth of 6.6% was the slowest in the five-year window, and any post-acquisition organic slowdown could pressure the premium multiple.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: Q2 2026 results · FY25 fundamentals · peer comparison · news, 26 Aug. Orin's read on AME; not advice.
How has the share price moved?
Up 31.8% over twelve months, from $186.75 on 27 Oct 2025 to $246.22 at the Tue 27 Oct 2026 close. Its highest close in that time was $258.52 on 12 Aug 2026; the last close is 4.8% below it.
- Green line: the closing price each trading day.
- Grey line: the average closing price over the last 50 trading days.
- Dashed amber line: the same over the last 200 trading days — a slower, smoother line.
- Bars along the bottom: shares traded each day — green when it closed higher than the day before, rose when lower (the most, 3.8M, on 19 Dec 2025).
- Flags: the company's filings, on the day they were made (a 10-Q is the quarterly report and a 10-K the annual report; an 8-K reports a major event).
On file
All AME filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| BlackRock | $4.7B | 0.1% |
| Vanguard Capital Management | $3.6B | 0.1% |
| State Street | $2.5B | 0.1% |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $2.4B | 0.1% |
| T. Rowe Price Associates | $1.6B | 0.2% |
| Geode Capital Management | $1.5B | 0.1% |
| Norges Bank | $1.0B | 0.1% |
| JPMorgan Chase | $1.0B | 0.1% |
| FMR | $1.0B | 0.0% |
| Morgan Stanley | $906.3M | 0.0% |
103 of the 815 filers we track · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 138 Form 4 filings; open-market trades net −$35.3M. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 2 sales — the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about AME
Orin answers questions about AME from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →How is it priced, against its own past and its sector?
Priced at 35.8× its last 12 months of profit (Tue 27 Oct close) — higher than in all 5 of its last 5 fiscal years (middle 30.3×); the typical Industrials company on the NYSE is at 33.7×.
| Measure | Now | Its usual | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 35.8×above usual | 30.3× | 33.7× |
| P/S | 7.18×above usual | 6.01× | — |
| EV/EBITDA | 24.0×above usual | 20.2× | — |
| P/B | 5.0×above usual | 4.4× | — |
- "Its usual" is the middle of its own last 5 fiscal years.
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
P/S: the company's total market value divided by one year of revenue. Used when there is no profit to measure.
EV/EBITDA: the price of the whole company (its shares plus its debt, minus its cash) divided by one year of operating profit before interest, tax and write-downs.
P/B: the share price divided by the book value per share — what the company owns minus what it owes, as its accounts record it. When book value is tiny, P/B swings wildly and says little.
What do the analysts who cover it publish?
The analysts' average 12-month price target is $277 (from $230 to $316) — 13% above the Tue 27 Oct close price. That is their published opinion, not Orin's.
$277
$230 – $316 · +13% against the last close
- 8 buy or overweight
- 5 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
Price target: the share price an analyst publishes for about 12 months ahead. It is the opinion of the firm that wrote it; the average is across the firms that cover the company.
Overweight / underweight: analysts' rating words: overweight means the firm expects the stock to do better than the others it covers, underweight worse. Their words, not Orin's.
How is it priced next to the companies it is compared to?
Priced at 35.8× its last 12 months of profit; the middle P/E of the 5 companies it is compared to that made a profit is 29.9×.
| Company | Market value | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross margin | Net margin | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMEAMETEK, Inc. | $56B | 35.8× | 24.0× | 36.6% | 20.0% | 15% |
| ENSEnerSys | $6B | 18.2× | 11.6× | 30.5% | 9.3% | 18% |
| ETNEaton Corporation plc | $149B | 39.0× | 26.3× | 35.9% | 12.8% | 20% |
| HUBBHubbell Incorporated | $23B | 25.4× | 17.4× | 35.4% | 13.8% | 23% |
| POWLPowell Industries, Inc. | $6B | 30.7× | 21.1× | 30.1% | 16.5% | 28% |
| TDYTeledyne Technologies Incorporated | $30B | 29.9× | 19.3× | 38.5% | 15.8% | 9% |
- The list of companies is the data vendor's choice, so it can include a company a person would not have picked.
Market value: the share price times the number of shares — what the whole company is priced at.
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
EV/EBITDA: the price of the whole company (its shares plus its debt, minus its cash) divided by one year of operating profit before interest, tax and write-downs.
Gross margin: the share of each $1 of sales left after the direct cost of making what was sold.
Net margin: the share of each $1 of sales kept as profit after every cost. Below zero, the company lost money.
ROE: return on equity: one year of profit as a share of the shareholders' money in the business (its book value).
Is it priced high or low compared with its own past?
Priced at 35.8× its last 12 months of profit (Tue 27 Oct close). It has no full fiscal year on file since its history starts, so there is nothing of its own to compare with.
- Now35.8×
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
Fiscal year (FY): the company's own 12-month accounting year, which need not match the calendar year.
How has its sector been priced?
Industrials companies on the NYSE were priced at a typical 33.7× their yearly profit (Tue 27 Oct close).
- Now33.7×
- Each year is the middle of that calendar year's daily sector P/E; "Now" is the Tue 27 Oct close figure, the same one in the table above.
Sector P/E: the middle P/E of the companies in the same sector on the same stock exchange, as the data vendor works it out each day.
What does a cash-flow model say a share is worth?
A standard cash-flow model puts it at $160 a share — 35% below the $245.32 price it was computed against (27 Oct).
| Model | Value a share | Against the price then |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $160 | 35% below $245.32 |
| Levered | $176 | 28% below $245.32 |
Discounted cash flow: a model's estimate of what the company is worth today, from the cash it is forecast to make in future years. Small changes in the forecast move it a lot, and it says little about a company that loses money.
Standard / levered: two versions of the cash-flow model: the standard one counts the cash before the company pays its lenders, the levered one after.