Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

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

Photronics Stock Performance

PLAB opened at $23.37 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.96 and a 200-day moving average of $26.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics has a fifty-two week low of $18.03 and a fifty-two week high of $34.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $211.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.51 EPS. Photronics’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Photronics will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 177.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 98,774 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,797,000 after purchasing an additional 63,228 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Photronics by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 308,856 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,746,000 after buying an additional 49,331 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Photronics by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,714,964 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,568,000 after buying an additional 207,049 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Photronics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,121,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 228,950 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,648,000 after acquiring an additional 23,449 shares in the last quarter. 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.