Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Photronics has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, indicating positive investor sentiment and potential stock growth.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.51, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.39, although revenue experienced a slight decline of 0.3% year-over-year.
• Photronics shares are currently trading at $23.39, with a market cap of $1.38 billion and a consensus rating of "Buy" from multiple analysts, with an average target price of $31.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

PLAB has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Photronics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded shares of Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Photronics currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.00.

Photronics Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of PLAB opened at $23.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.54. The company's fifty day moving average is $22.77 and its 200-day moving average is $20.32. Photronics has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $31.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Photronics news, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.04, for a total value of $125,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,300,252.08. This represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 103,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,266,000. This represents a 12.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,750 shares of company stock worth $1,953,800. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Photronics in the second quarter worth $40,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Photronics during the 1st quarter worth about $98,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Photronics by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 424.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,363 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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