Nordson Corporation
Orin's own judgment of how firmly the evidence points one way — not the chance the price goes up.
Nordson's FY2026 quarterly revenue growth has accelerated from 8.8% in Q1 to 10.3% YoY in Q3 (ended 31 Jul), supported by FY2025 free cash flow of $661M at a 23.7% margin and debt reduction from $2.40B to $2.16B.
At $322.31, however, the stock trades at 6.02x P/S — a 58.6% premium to the peer median — and 20.74x EV/EBITDA (22.4% above median), while insiders sold $26.7M net over 24 months and smart money scored just 0.01 as of Q2 2026. The growth trajectory is genuine but the valuation premium and persistent insider distribution leave limited margin of safety; hold while awaiting evidence that fundamentals can close the gap with the price.
What could go wrong
- Valuation compression. P/S of 6.02x is 58.6% above the peer median of 3.80x; any deceleration in revenue growth could trigger a re-rating lower as the premium unwinds.
- Persistent insider selling. Over 24 months, insiders executed 55 dispositions with zero acquisitions for net selling of $26.7M; sales continued into October 2026, signaling limited internal conviction at current levels.
- Smart money disengagement. Smart money score of 0.01 as of 30 Jun is barely positive and the data is stale; institutional positioning offers no tailwind despite 61 funds holding the name.
- Industrial cycle exposure. As a machinery company serving adhesives, coatings, and polymers end markets, Nordson faces cyclical risk if industrial capex slows; MACD histogram turned negative (-0.94) as of 16 Oct.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: quarterly results · FY25 fundamentals · FY24 and FY25 fundamentals · peer comparison, 16 Oct. Orin's read on NDSN; not advice.
How has the share price moved?
Up 36.1% over twelve months, from $238.35 on 27 Oct 2025 to $324.30 at the Tue 27 Oct 2026 close. Its highest close in that time was $334.70 on 20 Aug 2026; the last close is 3.1% 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, 1.8M, 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).
- Rose flags: large share sales by the company's own officers and directors, from the Form 4 each one files after trading.
On file
All NDSN filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| BlackRock | $1.2B | 0.0% |
| Vanguard Capital Management | $1.0B | 0.0% |
| State Street | $899.9M | 0.0% |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $712.0M | 0.0% |
| Geode Capital Management | $573.4M | 0.0% |
| Morgan Stanley | $427.8M | 0.0% |
| Invesco | $397.8M | 0.0% |
| FMR | $253.5M | 0.0% |
| Norges Bank | $215.7M | 0.0% |
| JPMorgan Chase | $207.6M | 0.0% |
82 of the 815 filers we track · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 160 Form 4 filings; open-market trades net −$26.7M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 33 sales — the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about NDSN
Orin answers questions about NDSN 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 32.7× its last 12 months of profit (Tue 27 Oct close) — higher than in 4 of its last 5 fiscal years (middle 27.1×); the typical Industrials company on the NASDAQ is at 18.4×.
| Measure | Now | Its usual | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 32.7×above usual | 27.1× | 18.4× |
| P/S | 6.06×above usual | 5.01× | — |
| EV/EBITDA | 20.9×above usual | 17.9× | — |
| P/B | 5.5×above usual | 4.9× | — |
- "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 $360 (from $345 to $375) — 11% above the Tue 27 Oct close price. That is their published opinion, not Orin's.
$360
$345 – $375 · +11% against the last close
- 3 buy or overweight
- 2 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 32.7× its last 12 months of profit; the middle P/E of the 9 companies it is compared to that made a profit is 30.2×.
| Company | Market value | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross margin | Net margin | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NDSNNordson Corporation | $18B | 32.7× | 20.9× | 55.3% | 18.6% | 18% |
| DCIDonaldson Company, Inc. | $10B | 21.8× | 15.1× | 34.6% | 11.7% | 28% |
| DOVDover Corporation | $28B | 23.9× | 15.2× | 39.7% | 13.6% | 15% |
| FLSFlowserve Corporation | $9B | 24.6× | 14.5× | 35.1% | 8.0% | 17% |
| GGGGraco Inc. | $11B | 21.1× | 14.4× | 52.0% | 22.4% | 20% |
| IEXIDEX Corporation | $17B | 32.3× | 19.3× | 44.9% | 14.6% | 13% |
| IRIngersoll Rand Inc. | $29B | 30.8× | 16.5× | 37.9% | 12.1% | 9% |
| ITTITT Inc. | $18B | 40.2× | 19.8× | 35.5% | 8.1% | 9% |
| NPOEnPro Industries, Inc. | $6B | 136× | 32.4× | 42.8% | 3.6% | 3% |
| PHParker-Hannifin Corporation | $113B | 30.2× | 21.2× | 37.7% | 16.6% | 25% |
- 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 32.7× 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.
- Now32.7×
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 NASDAQ were priced at a typical 18.4× their yearly profit (Tue 27 Oct close).
- Now18.4×
- 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 $191 a share — 41% below the $324.43 price it was computed against (27 Oct).
| Model | Value a share | Against the price then |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $191 | 41% below $324.43 |
| Levered | $216 | 34% below $324.43 |
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.