Analyzing Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) and SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM)

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) and SiTime (NASDAQ:SITM) are both technology companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Photronics and SiTime”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Photronics	$849.29 million	1.90	$136.40 million	$2.84	9.63
SiTime	$682.96 million	18.36	-$42.90 million	$0.94	443.53

Photronics has higher revenue and earnings than SiTime. Photronics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SiTime, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.4% of Photronics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.3% of SiTime shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of Photronics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of SiTime shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Photronics and SiTime’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Photronics	19.05%	7.45%	6.53%
SiTime	3.87%	9.07%	6.15%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Photronics and SiTime, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Photronics	0	2	3	1	2.83
SiTime	1	3	10	2	2.81

Photronics presently has a consensus target price of $49.33, suggesting a potential upside of 80.31%. SiTime has a consensus target price of $687.00, suggesting a potential upside of 64.78%. Given Photronics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Photronics is more favorable than SiTime.

Risk & Volatility

Photronics has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SiTime has a beta of 2.88, suggesting that its share price is 188% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Photronics beats SiTime on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Photronics

Photronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates. The company offers electrical and optical components. It sells its products to semiconductor and FPD manufacturers, designers, and foundries, as well as to other high-performance electronics manufacturers through its sales personnel and customer service representatives. The company was formerly known as Photronic Labs, Inc. and changed its name to Photronics, Inc. in 1990. Photronics, Inc. was incorporated in 1969 and is based in Brookfield, Connecticut.

About SiTime

SiTime Corporation designs, develops, and sells silicon timing systems solutions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore, and internationally. The company provides resonators and clock integrated circuits, and various types of oscillators. It serves various markets, including communications, datacenter, enterprise, automotive, industrial, internet of things, mobile, consumer, and aerospace and defense. The company sells its products directly to customers, distributors, and resellers. SiTime Corporation was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Santa Clara, California.