Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Critical Contrast

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.3% of Advanced Micro Devices shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.4% of Photronics shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Advanced Micro Devices shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Photronics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Advanced Micro Devices and Photronics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advanced Micro Devices	16.77%	14.15%	11.08%
Photronics	19.05%	7.45%	6.53%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Advanced Micro Devices and Photronics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advanced Micro Devices	$45.44 billion	19.96	$4.33 billion	$4.60	120.20
Photronics	$849.29 million	2.01	$136.40 million	$2.84	10.19

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Advanced Micro Devices and Photronics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advanced Micro Devices	1	8	31	3	2.84
Photronics	0	2	3	1	2.83

Advanced Micro Devices presently has a consensus price target of $642.47, suggesting a potential upside of 16.20%. Photronics has a consensus price target of $49.33, suggesting a potential upside of 70.53%. Given Photronics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Photronics is more favorable than Advanced Micro Devices.

Volatility & Risk

Advanced Micro Devices has a beta of 2.49, meaning that its stock price is 149% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Photronics has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Advanced Micro Devices beats Photronics on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Advanced Micro Devices

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is a semiconductor company that designs processors, graphics products and adaptive computing solutions. Its products serve data center, personal computing, gaming, embedded and other markets. AMD is a fabless chip designer, relying on third-party manufacturing partners to produce its semiconductors. The company’s product portfolio includes EPYC server processors, Ryzen desktop and laptop processors, Radeon graphics products, Instinct accelerators for data center computing, and adaptive chips and systems used in embedded applications.

About Photronics

Photronics, Inc. manufactures photomasks, high-precision plates used to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers and flat-panel displays. Its products support the production of integrated circuits and display technologies. The company serves semiconductor and display manufacturers around the world, with operations across North America, Europe and Asia. Photronics traces its history to 1969, when it was established as Photronic Labs. Photronics is headquartered in Brookfield, Connecticut.