Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Photronics has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting growing positive sentiment among analysts.
• The stock currently has an average price target of $31.00 and a consensus rating of "buy" from multiple analysts, indicating potential for future growth.
• Photronics recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51, exceeding expectations, although revenue showed a slight decline year-over-year.

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Photronics in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Singular Research upgraded shares of Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Photronics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of PLAB traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.81. 439,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 695,795. The stock has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.53. Photronics has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $31.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.96 and a 200-day moving average of $19.87.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.30 million. Photronics had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 8.19%. Photronics's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Photronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.420-0.480 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other news, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 15,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.97, for a total transaction of $299,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 56,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,136,832.19. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Garcia acquired 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $193,762. The trade was a 35.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 74,382 shares of company stock worth $1,534,335. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Photronics during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Photronics by 336.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Photronics during the 1st quarter worth $98,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth $110,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.