Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
Options put/call open interest 0.18, read 2026-10-27
Ethical passes the values gate
Price44.23 USD
Fair value51.98
Ethical score70.0/100
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-10-21Read Distribution41.27+7.2% to today Markup gives way to Distribution after a 12% slide in 3 weeks
2026-10-02Read Markup46.71-5.3% to today Distribution gives way to Markup first Markup read since August
2026-09-09Read Distribution46.15-4.2% to today ✓Markup gives way to Distribution after a 28% slide in 10 weeks
2026-07-02Read Markup64.14-31.0% to today First review on file: Markup
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.
PDF Solutions, Inc. holds its Distribution at $44.23. Consolidating, no directional conviction, held for 144 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-10-27
Phase
Distribution · caution
Quantitative state
Consolidating, no directional conviction, held for 144 days
Price at the screen
$44.23
Valuation
176.04 trailing · 26.63 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS· score 70.0
Beta
1.66
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
17.39%
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is just 17.4% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money.
Pass
Interest-bearing cash
0.00%
Below 33%
Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 0.0% of assets, under the one-third limit.
Pass
Receivables
29.89%
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is 29.9% of assets, under the 49% limit.
Pass
Revenue purity
0.60%
Below 5%
Only 0.6% 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.
The Ethical Read
Why It Clears, in Plain English
PDF Solutions, clears all five screens. Its business is in a permissible area, its interest-bearing debt is about 17%, inside the ~33% line, and almost none of its income is interest, so it passes.
Read as at 2026-10-27. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
Follow this verdict
Get an email when PDFS's ethical verdict changes
Today PDFS passes the screen. If new figures move it to a fail, we send you one short email with the before and after. Verdicts change rarely, so you may not hear from us for a long time.
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Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-10-27 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 18.1% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 8 covering, consensus Strong Buy. The average target sits +38% 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 2026-10-27 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
Chip design tools trading above fair value
Picture the delicate process of squeezing more performance from every silicon wafer, where PDF Solutions supplies the software and measurement gear that helps fabs fine tune designs. Yet the current price sits just above our fair value with zero margin of safety, and the opportunity rating stays at none. Revenue is growing at 26 percent, but that alone does not justify the stretch.
Forward earnings sit on a 32.9 times multiple while profit margins and return on equity both linger at just 3 percent. Analyst targets point higher, yet the thin returns on capital leave little room for error if growth slows or competition intensifies. The ethical screen clears without issue, which removes one layer of concern but does nothing to fix the valuation gap.
High multiples on low profitability often signal optimism that has already run ahead of results. Currency moves and customer concentration in the semiconductor supply chain add further volatility that the balance sheet must absorb. Analysis, not advice.
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
PDFS 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
2026-10-28Distribution$44.01+6.6%Entry 9
The analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved up 6.6% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 11% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading oversold. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54.
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 down 24.1% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 11% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54.
2026-10-14Markup$54.40+16.5%Entry 7
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 16.5% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 57% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54. Since the last review it its composite score eased.
2026-10-02Markup · changed$46.71+1.2%Entry 6
The framework has shifted from distribution to markup since the last review. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 1.2% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B. Technically it is holding around 57% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54. Since the last review it entered the Tech 100; its composite score rose; dropped out of the Tech 100.
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 down 9.8% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B. Technically it is holding around 57% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54.
2026-08-08Markup$51.14-20.3%Entry 4
Our analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 20.3% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B. Technically it is holding around 57% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54.
2026-07-18Markup$64.14+0.0%Entry 3
Our analysis 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 passing ethical screen. The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B. Technically it is holding around 57% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are up 185%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 30%. The street (4 analysts) rates it strong buy, with a mean price target of $54.
2026-07-03Markup$64.14+0.0%Entry 2
Our analysis 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 passing ethical screen (70). The risk-adjusted return profile shows good risk-adjusted returns.
2026-07-02Markup$64.14Entry 1
Our analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Ethical screening: PASS with passing ethical screen (70). 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.