Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Photronics to “Hold” from “Buy,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $49.33.
• Photronics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.50 in EPS versus $0.40 expected and $216.05 million in revenue versus $208.75 million; revenue increased 2.7% year over year.
• Shares opened at $30.40, well below the 52-week high of $56.00. Director Kang Lee sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $29.70, while institutional investors own 88.38% of the stock.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Photronics in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Photronics from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Freedom Capital upgraded Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Photronics to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Photronics currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.33.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of Photronics stock opened at $30.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.10. Photronics has a fifty-two week low of $20.05 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 1.35.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 19.05%.The firm had revenue of $216.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Photronics has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Photronics will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other Photronics news, Director Kang Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.70, for a total transaction of $297,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 354,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,539,045. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLAB. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Photronics by 57.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 2,895 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Photronics during the second quarter worth $1,288,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 2nd quarter worth $89,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Photronics Company Profile

Photronics, Inc NASDAQ: PLAB is a manufacturer of photomasks, precision photographic plates used in the semiconductor and flat-panel display manufacturing processes. Photomasks transfer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers and display substrates, making them an important component in the production of integrated circuits, memory devices, flat-panel displays and other electronic products.

The company provides photomasks for a range of semiconductor applications, including advanced logic, foundry and memory devices.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.