Are Computer and Technology Stocks Lagging Photronics (PLAB) This Year?

Investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Photronics (PLAB) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Computer and Technology sector should help us answer this question.

Photronics is a member of the Computer and Technology sector. This group includes 607 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Photronics is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLAB's full-year earnings has moved 8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, PLAB has moved about 8.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Computer and Technology sector has returned an average of -2.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Photronics is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Computer and Technology stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Cirrus Logic (CRUS). The stock has returned 14.7% year-to-date.

In Cirrus Logic's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 17.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Photronics is a member of the Semiconductor Equipment - Photomasks industry, which includes 2 individual companies and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 8.4% so far this year, so PLAB is performing on par this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Cirrus Logic, however, belongs to the Electronics - Semiconductors industry. Currently, this 47-stock industry is ranked #85. The industry has moved +2.1% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to Photronics and Cirrus Logic as they could maintain their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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