Zacks Research Upgrades Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) to “Strong-Buy”

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Singular Research raised shares of Photronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $31.00.

Photronics Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ PLAB opened at $23.39 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.32. Photronics has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.54.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.420-0.480 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In related news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total transaction of $219,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 200,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,960.63. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Paladino sold 42,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $1,026,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $811,152. This represents a 55.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,800 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Photronics by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,907,219 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,634,000 after acquiring an additional 38,330 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Photronics by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,607,874 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,106,000 after buying an additional 383,355 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Photronics by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,306,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,425,000 after buying an additional 109,909 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,042 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,555,000 after acquiring an additional 26,507 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,258,714 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,131,000 after acquiring an additional 135,859 shares in the last quarter. 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.