Singular Research Upgrades Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Singular Research has upgraded Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting positive sentiment from analysts.
• Photronics reported Q3 earnings with an EPS of $0.51, exceeding estimates and achieving revenue of $210.39 million, although its revenue showed a slight year-over-year decline of 0.3%.
• Despite recent downgrades from other analysts, the overall consensus rating for Photronics remains "Buy" with an average price target of $31.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Singular Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. 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 on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of PLAB stock opened at $22.64 on Thursday. Photronics has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $31.60. The company's 50-day moving average is $20.61 and its 200 day moving average is $19.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $210.39 million for 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 revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. 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 Activity at Photronics

In other Photronics news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 103,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,266,000. This trade represents a 12.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 29,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $595,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 459,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,284,384.60. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 74,382 shares of company stock worth $1,534,335 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Photronics by 2.1% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 30,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Photronics by 6.8% during the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 14,847 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in shares of Photronics by 11.9% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 9,400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Photronics by 7.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,319 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Photronics by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 35,047 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 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.

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