MLSS vs NVST vs ALGN Stock Comparison

Milestone Scientific, Envista Holdings and Align Technology Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ALGN Align Technology Inc
$151.95 +3.5% 1M +12.0% 1Y
Market cap
$10.83B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.14B
Div. yield
–
Dental Healthcare
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Envista Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Envista Holdings 5, Align Technology 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMLSSNVSTALGNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $28.45M $3.85B $10.83B ALGN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only — 40.5x 26.2x ALGN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 15.7x 13.9x ALGN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -27.5% +11.9% +4.4% NVST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 3.3% 10.0% ALGN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 2.5% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -31.9% +15.9% +12.0% NVST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -31.1%/yr -9.5%/yr -24.8%/yr NVST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 81.4% 37.8% 39.1% NVST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 74/100 66/100 NVST

Percentile Scorecard

MLSSNVSTALGN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMLSSNVSTALGN
Valuation – 97 #7 of 227 89 #27 of 227
Growth – 51 #109 of 219 22 #171 of 219
Profitability – 74 #54 of 206 88 #26 of 206
Financial Health – 52 #115 of 238 44 #135 of 238
Shareholder Returns – 96 #6 of 134 89 #16 of 134
Overall – 74 66
  • MLSS ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • NVST ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • ALGN ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMLSSNVSTALGNSPY
1 month -24.4%-1.6%+3.5% -0.2%
3 months -27.9%-12.6%-13.5% +3.9%
6 months -4.9%-11.0%-14.3% +8.2%
Year to date +13.6%+8.6%-2.7% +12.9%
1 year -31.9%+15.9%+12.0% +12.3%
3 years -65.1%+0.3%-20.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year -29.6%+0.1%-7.3% +23.3%
5 years -84.5%-39.3%-75.9% +67.9%
5 years, per year -31.1%-9.5%-24.8% +10.9%
10 years -83.2%—+80.6% +261.1%
10 years, per year -16.4%—+6.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMLSSNVSTALGNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 81.4%37.8%39.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 83.3%34.6%36.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.291.141.30 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.390.420.31 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -90.9%-71.0%-82.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -43.6%-22.1%-23.1% -1.2%
52-week high $0.55$30.26$197.51 $779.14
52-week low $0.25$18.95$131.91 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMLSSNVSTALGN
P/E now vs peer median —median 29.6x 40.2xmedian 29.6x 26.3xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.2xmedian 2.9x 1.3xmedian 2.9x 2.6xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.4x 10.5xmedian 17.4x 12.1xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 22.3x 15.3xmedian 22.3x 17.1xmedian 22.3x
P/B now vs peer median —median 2.3x 1.2xmedian 2.3x 2.6xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.04 -1.81median 1.04 2.16median 1.04

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMLSSNVSTALGN
Revenue $6.58M $2.86B $4.14B
Gross profit – $1.58B $2.82B
Operating income – $273.60M $547.59M
Net income – $95.00M $413.58M
Free cash flow – $248.10M $633.57M
R&D – $120.80M $377.00M
EPS (diluted) – $0.58 $5.78
Cash & equivalents – $1.13B $1.10B
Total debt – $1.44B –
Shares (diluted) 93.13M 164.10M 71.52M
Enterprise value $28.45M -$708.88M $6.57B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMLSSNVSTALGN
P/E – 40.2x 26.3x
P/FCF – 15.3x 17.1x
P/Operating cash flow – 12.5x 14.3x
P/S 4.2x 1.3x 2.6x
P/B – 1.2x 2.6x
P/Tangible book – 1.5x 2.6x
EV/EBITDA – 10.5x 12.1x
EV/EBIT – 15.0x 17.8x
EV/Revenue 4.2x 1.4x 2.3x
EV/FCF – 16.5x 15.3x
EV/Operating cash flow – 13.5x 12.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -1.81 2.16

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMLSSNVSTALGN
Revenue growth (1Y) -27.5% 11.9% 4.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -12.9% 3.4% 3.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 13.1% 1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 2.3% 2.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 79.6% -8.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -4.4% -0.8%
Net income growth (1Y) – 76.6% -5.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -24.0% 9.6%
EPS growth (1Y) – 82.8% -4.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -22.2% 12.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 3.6% 3.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.8% -4.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -3.8% 0.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 15.8% 1.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMLSSNVSTALGN
Gross margin – 55.2% 68.0%
EBITDA margin – 13.6% 19.4%
Operating margin – 9.6% 13.2%
Pretax margin – 8.2% 13.7%
Net margin – 3.3% 10.0%
FCF margin – 8.7% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin – 10.6% 18.3%
Return on equity – 3.1% 9.9%
Return on assets – 1.7% 6.5%
Return on invested capital – 2.5% –
Return on capital employed – 5.7% 12.3%
Asset turnover – 0.5x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 3.2x 1.8x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.4% 4.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMLSSNVSTALGN
Debt / assets – 25.7% –
Debt / equity – 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.8x –
Debt / FCF – 5.8x –
Liabilities / assets – 45.0% 34.0%
Equity / assets – 55.0% 66.0%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio – 2.4x 1.4x
Quick ratio – 1.9x 1.2x
Cash ratio – 1.4x 0.6x
Altman Z-score – 1.73 4.61

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMLSSNVSTALGN
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – 4.3% 2.3%
Shareholder yield – 4.3% 2.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMLSSNVSTALGN
Forward P/E – 15.7xFY2026 13.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.04FY2026 $1.50FY2026 $10.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +26.1%FY2026 +4.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +16.7% +16.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $9.29MFY2026 $2.99BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +3.6%FY2026 +9.8%FY2026 -4.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +27.1% +2.6% +3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMLSSNVSTALGN
Held by institutions 5.8% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 31 382 675
Change in shares held, QoQ +18.9% +6.4% +4.2%
Institutions buying 11 200 292
Institutions selling 4 129 268
Buyers to sellers 2.75 1.55 1.09

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MLSSNVSTALGN
MLSS 1.00 0.03 0.19
NVST 0.03 1.00 0.69
ALGN 0.19 0.69 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MLSS, NVST and ALGN?

Align Technology (ALGN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Milestone Scientific (MLSS) $28.45M, Envista Holdings (NVST) $3.85B, Align Technology (ALGN) $10.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, MLSS, NVST and ALGN?

Align Technology (ALGN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Envista Holdings (NVST) 40.5x, Align Technology (ALGN) 26.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Align Technology (ALGN) is cheapest (Envista Holdings (NVST) 15.7x, Align Technology (ALGN) 13.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Envista Holdings (NVST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Milestone Scientific (MLSS) -27.5%, Envista Holdings (NVST) +11.9%, Align Technology (ALGN) +4.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Align Technology (ALGN) has the highest net margin (Envista Holdings (NVST) 3.3%, Align Technology (ALGN) 10.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Envista Holdings (NVST) returned the most: Milestone Scientific (MLSS) -31.9%, Envista Holdings (NVST) +15.9%, Align Technology (ALGN) +12.0%. Over five years, Envista Holdings (NVST) compounded fastest (Milestone Scientific (MLSS) -31.1%/yr, Envista Holdings (NVST) -9.5%/yr, Align Technology (ALGN) -24.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Envista Holdings (NVST) has been the steadiest (Milestone Scientific (MLSS) 81.4%, Envista Holdings (NVST) 37.8%, Align Technology (ALGN) 39.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MLSS, NVST and ALGN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Envista Holdings (NVST) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.