COHR
Coherent, Inc.
COHR has the edge over MS overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
COHR Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
COHR's revenue, profitability and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its cash flow is weak.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
COHR PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 20x | $232 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $130 | -44% |
| Fair | 34x | $165 | -29% |
| Current | 48x | $232 | — |
| Expensive | 184x | $886 | +282% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
COHR has the edge over MS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS's PE is in its fair range at 15x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
COHR Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for COHR, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
COHR Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $11.69 | +142% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.83 | +580% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.12 | +$4.64 |
| Q1 2026 | $2.11 | +$2.34 |
| Q4 2025 | $1.03 | +$1.44 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.71 | +$1.94 |
| Q2 2025 | -$0.52 | +$1.32 |
| Q1 2025 | -$0.23 | +$2.64 |
| Q4 2024 | -$0.41 | +$2.41 |
COHR's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $4.83 over the past year, about seven times what it earned the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $12.60 over the past year, up 29% from the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
COHR Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.4B | +50% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +34% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.8B | +21% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.6B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.5B | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.5B | +24% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +27% |
COHR has the edge over MS on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +1.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +18 points |
| Q1 2026 | 10% | +9.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 10% | +1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 14% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -4.2% | -9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.7% | -1.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 8.9% | +6.1 points |
COHR's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 1.4 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS's revenue has grown year over year for 14 quarters in a row: $20.3B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS has the edge over COHR on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
COHR Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$868.2M | -$810.2M |
| Q2 2026 | -$486.2M | -$485.2M |
| Q1 2026 | -$383.5M | -850% |
| Q4 2025 | -$95.7M | -217% |
| Q3 2025 | -$58M | -195% |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.1M | -102% |
| Q1 2025 | $51.1M | +111% |
| Q4 2024 | $81.7M | +$106M |
COHR's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$1.8B over the past year.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS has the edge over COHR on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
COHR Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +3.4% | +6.6M shares |
| 1 year | +5.9% | +11.3M shares |
| 3 years | +34% | +51.7M shares |
| 5 years | +74% | +86.2M shares |
| Available history | +122% | +111M shares |
COHR has 202M diluted shares, up 5.9% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2021 | — |
| Q1 2021 | — |
| Q2 2020 | — |
| Q1 2020 | $1,000 |
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has the edge over COHR on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
COHR Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.1x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.1x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 5.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 4.6x | High |
COHR has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
COHR Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 43.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 16.5 | Oversold |
COHR's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 16 (oversold).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
COHR PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | COHR | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 48x | 28x | 72% above |
| PE % | 58 | 35 | 23 pts above |
COHR is trading at 48x earnings, a 72% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS has the edge over COHR on valuation relative to its sector.
COHR Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $252.9 | 8.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $284.1 | 18% below |
| 50 week MA | $277.7 | 16% below |
| 100 week MA | $185.9 | 25% above |
| 200 week MA | $120.6 | 92% above |
COHR has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 92% above its 200-week average.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS has the edge over COHR on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
COHR Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $33.5 | $77.8 | +132% |
| 2021 | $77.8 | $68.0 | -13% |
| 2022 | $68.0 | $33.1 | -51% |
| 2023 | $33.1 | $43.5 | +32% |
| 2024 | $43.5 | $97.0 | +123% |
| 2025 | $97.0 | $191.7 | +98% |
| 2026 YTD | $191.7 | $232.1 | +21% |
COHR has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 4% so far in 2026.