Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

3 Overrated Stocks with Warning Signs

PLAB Cover Image

The stocks featured in this article are seeing some big returns. Over the past month, they’ve outpaced the market due to some combination of positive news, upbeat results, or supportive macro developments. As such, investors are taking notice and bidding up shares.

However, not all companies with momentum are long-term winners, and many investors have lost money by following short-term trends. Keeping that in mind, here are three overhyped stocks that may correct and some you should consider instead.

Photronics (PLAB)

One-Month Return: +13.6%

Sporting a global footprint of facilities, Photronics (NASDAQ: PLAB) is a manufacturer of photomasks, templates used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers.

Why Do We Think Twice About PLAB?

  1. Demand will likely be weak over the next 12 months as Wall Street expects flat revenue
  2. Competitive supply chain dynamics and steep production costs are reflected in its low gross margin of 36.2%
  3. Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 13% for the last two years

Photronics’s stock price of $25.07 implies a valuation ratio of 13.5x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with PLAB, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Sonos (SONO)

One-Month Return: +17.5%

A pioneer in connected home audio systems, Sonos (NASDAQ: SONO) offers a range of premium wireless speakers and sound systems.

Why Should You Dump SONO?

  1. Sales tumbled by 8% annually over the last two years, showing consumer trends are working against its favor
  2. Poor expense management has led to operating margin losses
  3. Negative returns on capital show that some of its growth strategies have backfired

Sonos is trading at $15.57 per share, or 25.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including SONO in your portfolio.

TTM Technologies (TTMI)

One-Month Return: +17.9%

As one of the world's largest printed circuit board manufacturers with facilities spanning North America and Asia, TTM Technologies (NASDAQ: TTMI) manufactures printed circuit boards (PCBs) and radio frequency (RF) components for aerospace, defense, automotive, and telecommunications industries.

Why Is TTMI Not Exciting?

  1. Sales trends were unexciting over the last five years as its 4.4% annual growth was below the typical business services company
  2. Free cash flow margin shrank by 6.1 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
  3. Below-average returns on capital indicate management struggled to find compelling investment opportunities

At $52.40 per share, TTM Technologies trades at 23.3x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than TTMI.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

Trump’s April 2025 tariff bombshell triggered a massive market selloff, but stocks have since staged an impressive recovery, leaving those who panic sold on the sidelines.

Take advantage of the rebound by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

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