Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

Photronics Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Photronics stock opened at $22.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.31. Photronics has a twelve month low of $18.03 and a twelve month high of $34.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). Photronics had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $211.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Photronics by 223.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,629 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Photronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Photronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

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.