Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Photronics Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of PLAB opened at $23.37 on Friday. Photronics has a 12 month low of $18.03 and a 12 month high of $34.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). Photronics had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The company had revenue of $211.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. Photronics’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Photronics will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Photronics by 3.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 28,145 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Photronics by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 54,791 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Photronics by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.