Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

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

Separately, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday.

Photronics Stock Down 3.7%

Shares of PLAB traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.79. 1,425,696 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,075. Photronics has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $31.60. The company has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.43. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $19.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.81.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.08). Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Photronics will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.60, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 542,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,709,360. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.79, for a total value of $88,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,950. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,548 shares of company stock worth $1,093,093. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Photronics by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,907,219 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $122,634,000 after buying an additional 38,330 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Photronics by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,224,519 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $46,181,000 after buying an additional 104,200 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Photronics by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,196,267 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,595,000 after acquiring an additional 177,380 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,837,000 after acquiring an additional 30,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 12.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,258,714 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,131,000 after acquiring an additional 135,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Photronics Company Profile

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