Craig Hallum Begins Coverage on Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the semiconductor company's stock. Craig Hallum's price target would indicate a potential upside of 68.51% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.99. 200,339 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,124. Photronics has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $31.60. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $18.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.49.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 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 business had revenue of $210.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Photronics's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.60, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $331,306.24. This represents a 28.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,548 shares of company stock worth $884,093. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLAB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Photronics by 216.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Photronics during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised 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 valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Photronics in the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Photronics

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.