Posted by admin on May 31st, 2022

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $23.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock. Zacks Investment Research‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 8.64% from the company’s current price.

According to Zacks, “Photronics is a leading worldwide manufacturer of photomasks. Photomasks are high precision quartz plates that contain microscopic images of electronic circuits. A key element in the manufacture of semiconductors and flat panel displays, photomasks are used to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers and flat panel substrates during the fabrication of integrated circuits, a variety of flat panel displays and, to a lesser extent, other types of electrical and optical components. They are produced in accordance with product designs provided by customers at strategically located manufacturing facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America. “

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PLAB. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Photronics from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 25th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Photronics in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Northland Securities upped their target price on shares of Photronics from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 26th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Photronics from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Photronics currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $25.50.

Shares of Photronics stock opened at $21.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Photronics has a 1-year low of $11.65 and a 1-year high of $21.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.98.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $204.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.37 million. Photronics had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 8.45%. Photronics’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Photronics will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

In other news, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $34,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 74,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,264,443. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 11,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.54, for a total transaction of $189,895.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,639,668.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,481 shares of company stock worth $253,896 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Photronics by 587.5% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Photronics by 77.5% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,798 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Photronics during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Photronics during the 1st quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Advisor Group Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Photronics by 211.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 4,432 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the period. 88.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Photronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, Korea, Europe, China, and internationally. The company offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, FDP substrates, and other types of electrical and optical components.

Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Photronics (PLAB)

For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Receive News & Ratings for Photronics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Photronics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Downgraded by Zacks Investment Research to Hold

NeuBase Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NBSE) Given New $10.00 Price Target at HC Wainwright