Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
Ethical passes the values gate
Price29.34 USD
Fair value30.77
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-09-09Read Markdown29.13+0.7% to today
2026-08-08Read Distribution32.61-10.0% to today ✓
2026-07-02Read Markup29.15+0.7% to today ✓
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
Photronics, Inc. holds its Distribution at $29.34. The statistical read favours the buyers, held for 1 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-09-21
Phase
Distribution · caution
Quantitative state
The statistical read favours the buyers, held for 1 days
Price at the screen
$29.34
Valuation
10.44 trailing · 14.13 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS
Beta
1.35
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Full pass across all five screens. This security clears the Titan Ethical Standard: its business and its balance sheet both stay inside the lines.
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Permissible
Core business clean
Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending.
Pass
Debt load
0.00%
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is just 0.0% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money.
Pass
Interest-bearing cash
20.18%
Below 33%
Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 20.2% of assets, under the one-third limit.
Pass
Receivables
0.00%
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is 0.0% of assets, under the 49% limit.
Pass
Revenue purity
0.00%
Below 5%
Only 0.0% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line.
Pass
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-21 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 4.9% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 3 covering, consensus Strong Buy. The average target sits +40% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Both our model and the analysts see meaningful upside from here.
Price History & Projections
Where it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-21 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Photomasks sit behind every advanced chip
Picture the precise stencils that turn light into working silicon circuits inside every phone and data centre. Photronics supplies those photomasks to chip makers worldwide. The business clears our ethical screen, carries a moderate moat and delivers an 18 percent profit margin with 13 percent return on equity.
Flat revenue and a 14.3 times forward earnings multiple leave little room for excitement. The shares trade at 28.85 dollars against our fair value of 30.09, a slim four percent margin of safety. Analyst targets sit higher at 42 dollars, yet the numbers do not point to strong growth ahead.
Chip demand swings sharply with every industry cycle and currency moves add further noise. Without clear expansion or a deeper discount the stock offers no compelling case at present.
The risks · The things to watch: it's a small-cap, so the share price can swing harder than the market; it already moves more than the market on an average day.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
PLAB trades on Nasdaq. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-09-09Markdown · changed$29.13-10.7%Entry 5
The framework has shifted from distribution to markdown since the last review. Price is trending lower. Sellers are in control and the prior trend has reversed. Price has moved down 10.7% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with ethical screening pending. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C. Technically it is holding around 3% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are up 54%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (2 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $46.
The framework has shifted from markup to distribution since the last review. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved up 11.9% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with ethical screening pending. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C. Technically it is holding around 3% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are up 54%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (2 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $46.
2026-07-18Markup$29.15+0.0%Entry 3
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with ethical screening pending. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C. Technically it is holding around 3% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are up 54%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 32%. The street (2 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $46.
2026-07-03Markup$29.15+0.0%Entry 2
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with ethical screening pending. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns.
2026-07-02Markup$29.15Entry 1
The framework reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Ethical screening: PASS with ethical screening pending. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
