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Photronics (PLAB) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Photronics (PLAB - Free Report) closed at $18.17, marking a +0.83% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.94%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.63%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.55%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the electronics imaging company had lost 6.15% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 7.56% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 4.63% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Photronics as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.31, up 138.46% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $183.65 million, up 20.77% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $1.30 per share and revenue of $753 million. These totals would mark changes of +46.07% and +13.44%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Photronics. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant within the past month. Photronics currently has a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Investors should also note Photronics's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 13.86. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.02.

The Semiconductor Equipment - Photomasks industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 4, which puts it in the top 2% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.


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