Sectors & Industries TechnologyScientific & Technical Instruments
Best Scientific & Technical Instrument Stocks to Buy Now (2026)
Top scientific & technical instrument stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best scientific & technical instrument stocks to buy now. Learn More.

Industry: Scientific & Technical In...

Overview Zen Rating Price Value Growth Financials Momentum Sentiment

Scientific & Technical Instruments is Zen Rated B and is the 45th ranked industry out of 146 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Market Cap	Shares	Institutional %	Insider %	Net Insider (L12M)	Net Insider (L3M)
MLAB	MESA LABORATORIES INC	$569.61M	5,524,813	84.35%	15.65%	Net Buying	Net Buying
MKSI	MKS INC	$21.84B	67,544,129	70.41%	29.59%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ST	SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES HOLDING PLC	$7.33B	145,432,046	44.36%	55.64%	Net Selling	Net Selling
CGNX	COGNEX CORP	$10.99B	166,419,451	94.64%	3.89%	Net Selling	Net Selling
KEYS	KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC	$58.16B	171,502,495	88.44%	1.09%	Net Selling	Net Selling
TRMB	TRIMBLE INC	$12.80B	233,111,519	94.19%	1.30%	Net Buying	Net Buying
VPG	VISHAY PRECISION GROUP INC	$1.67B	13,301,000	71.87%	28.13%	Net Selling
GRMN	GARMIN LTD	$45.58B	192,856,206	49.07%	50.93%	Net Selling	Net Selling
NOVT	NOVANTA INC	$5.67B	35,611,858	78.29%	21.71%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ESE	ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC	$7.89B	25,907,172	95.94%	4.06%	Net Selling	Net Buying
ITRI	ITRON INC	$3.71B	44,339,347	83.27%	16.73%	Net Selling	Net Selling
COHR	COHERENT CORP	$73.75B	195,639,321	89.53%	8.03%	Net Selling	Net Selling
FTV	FORTIVE CORP	$18.04B	304,861,021	86.36%	13.64%	Net Buying	Net Selling
WATT	ENERGOUS CORP	$151.01M	5,501,101	7.77%	92.23%	Net Buying	Net Buying
VNT	VONTIER CORP	$4.04B	140,000,000	98.91%	1.09%	Net Selling	Net Selling
TDY	TELEDYNE TECHNOLOGIES INC	$29.38B	46,329,138	94.94%	5.06%	Net Selling
ACFN	ACORN ENERGY INC	$42.31M	2,508,258	0.55%	99.45%	Net Buying
BCHT	BIRCHTECH CORP	$47.35M	26,305,966	12.29%	11.23%	Net Buying
BMI	BADGER METER INC	$3.64B	29,185,570	95.86%	4.14%	Net Buying	Net Selling
MIND	MIND TECHNOLOGY INC	$62.81M	9,089,055	15.81%	23.62%
MVIS	MICROVISION INC	$210.58M	331,615,285	26.12%	9.25%	Net Selling	Net Buying
WRAP	WRAP TECHNOLOGIES INC	$78.03M	55,738,250	10.30%	40.63%	Net Selling
BKSY	BLACKSKY TECHNOLOGY INC	$1.92B	37,109,026	36.81%	63.19%	Net Selling	Net Selling
ELSE	ELECTRO SENSORS INC	$27.09M	3,532,423	5.78%	94.22%	Net Buying
SVRE	SAVERONE 2014 LTD	$0.00	29,961,257,022	0.00%	40.76%	Net Buying	Net Buying
GNSS	GENASYS INC	$97.00M	45,542,009	42.14%	57.86%	Net Buying
SOBR	SOBR SAFE INC	$3.48M	2,806,579	0.76%	99.24%
USBC	USBC INC	$143.61M	388,144,429	0.19%	99.81%
ODYS	ODYSIGHTAI INC	$79.02M	16,777,322	25.85%	44.10%	Net Selling	Net Buying
SOTK	SONO TEK CORP	$76.37M	15,713,747	8.54%	24.07%	Net Selling	Net Buying
FCUV	FOCUS UNIVERSAL INC	$1.64M	2,069,781	0.12%	99.88%	Net Buying

Scientific & Technical Instrument Stocks FAQ

What are the best scientific & technical instrument stocks to buy right now in May 2026?

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best scientific & technical instrument stocks to buy right now are:

1. Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) is the #1 top scientific & technical instrument stock out of 31 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is -2 points lower than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates MLAB as a "A".

MLAB passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Mesa Laboratories has seen its stock return 0.03% over the past year, underperforming other scientific & technical instrument stocks by -45 percentage points.

Mesa Laboratories has an average 1 year price target of $94.00, a downside of -8.83% from Mesa Laboratories's current stock price of $103.10.

Mesa Laboratories stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Mesa Laboratories, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Mks (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Mks (NASDAQ:MKSI) is the #2 top scientific & technical instrument stock out of 31 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Mks (NASDAQ:MKSI) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Mks (NASDAQ:MKSI) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 10 points higher than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 36.

MKSI passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Mks has seen its stock return 279.19% over the past year, overperforming other scientific & technical instrument stocks by 234 percentage points.

Mks has an average 1 year price target of $306.85, a downside of -5.12% from Mks's current stock price of $323.41.

Mks stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Mks, 69.23% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 15.38% have issued a Buy, 7.69% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 7.69% have issued a Strong Sell.

3. Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST)

Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST) is the #3 top scientific & technical instrument stock out of 31 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST) has a Due Diligence Score of 31, which is -5 points lower than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 36. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ST as a "B".

ST passed 11 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sensata Technologies Holding has seen its stock return 91.41% over the past year, overperforming other scientific & technical instrument stocks by 46 percentage points.

Sensata Technologies Holding has an average 1 year price target of $47.44, a downside of -5.83% from Sensata Technologies Holding's current stock price of $50.38.

Sensata Technologies Holding stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 9 analysts covering Sensata Technologies Holding, 44.44% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 11.11% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 11.11% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the scientific & technical instrument stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 9 scientific & technical instrument stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 scientific & technical instrument stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI)

Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI) has an annual dividend yield of 1.28%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 0.62%. Badger Meter's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Badger Meter's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Badger Meter's dividend payout ratio of 34.5% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

2. Garmin (NYSE:GRMN)

Garmin (NYSE:GRMN) has an annual dividend yield of 1.14%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 0.62%. Garmin's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Garmin's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Garmin's dividend payout ratio of 39.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST)

Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST) has an annual dividend yield of 0.95%, which is the same as the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 0.62%. Sensata Technologies Holding's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Sensata Technologies Holding's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Sensata Technologies Holding's dividend payout ratio of 150% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Why are scientific & technical instrument stocks up?

Scientific & technical instrument stocks were up 0.38% in the last day, and up 2.57% over the last week. Sobr Safe was the among the top gainers in the scientific & technical instruments industry, gaining 11.71% yesterday.

Shares of companies within the broader technology sector are trading higher amid an ongoing AI-driven rally and possible influence from Snowflake's recent Q1 financial results. The sector may be seeing strength alongside recent optimism about continued U.S.-Iran negotiations.

What are the most undervalued scientific & technical instrument stocks?

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued scientific & technical instrument stocks right now are:

1. Vontier (NYSE:VNT)

Vontier (NYSE:VNT) is the most undervalued scientific & technical instrument stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Vontier has a valuation score of 57, which is 36 points higher than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 21. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Vontier's stock has dropped -19.37% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the scientific & technical instrument industry by -65 percentage points.

2. Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) is the second most undervalued scientific & technical instrument stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Itron has a valuation score of 43, which is 22 points higher than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 21. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Itron's stock has dropped -26.21% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the scientific & technical instrument industry by -72 percentage points.

3. Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB)

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB) is the third most undervalued scientific & technical instrument stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Mesa Laboratories has a valuation score of 43, which is 22 points higher than the scientific & technical instrument industry average of 21. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Mesa Laboratories's stock has gained 0.03% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the scientific & technical instrument industry by -45 percentage points.

Are scientific & technical instrument stocks a good buy now?

60% of scientific & technical instrument stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect scientific & technical instrument stocks to rise by 7.24% over the next year.

4.35% of scientific & technical instrument stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 26.09% of scientific & technical instrument stocks are rated B (Buy), 52.17% are rated C (Hold), 13.04% are rated D (Sell), and 4.35% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the scientific & technical instruments industry?

The average P/E ratio of the scientific & technical instruments industry is 77.86x.

WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.

Scientific & Technical Instrument Stocks FAQ

1. Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB)

2. Mks (NASDAQ:MKSI)

3. Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST)

1. Badger Meter (NYSE:BMI)

2. Garmin (NYSE:GRMN)

3. Sensata Technologies Holding (NYSE:ST)

1. Vontier (NYSE:VNT)

2. Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI)

3. Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ:MLAB)

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