Craig Hallum Initiates Coverage on Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Stock analysts at Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the semiconductor company's stock. Craig Hallum's target price would suggest a potential upside of 74.29% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PLAB. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of Photronics stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.36. 653,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 557,931. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $18.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.37. Photronics has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $31.60.

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

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.60, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,360. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $331,306.24. The trade was a 28.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,548 shares of company stock valued at $884,093 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 216.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 65.6% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the first quarter worth about $98,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.